


With Arms Wide Open

by WinchesterWarrenSon



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Alien Reproduction, Daddy Issues, Death to the Gender Binary, Developmentally Disabled Son Goku, Disabled Character, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Interspecies Relationship(s), Mother-Son Relationship, No Underage Sex, Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Sibling Relationship, Transgender Issues, Unconventional Families, Unconventional Relationship, Xenoverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-18 17:19:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 74
Words: 141,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2356346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterWarrenSon/pseuds/WinchesterWarrenSon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Complete re-do and continuation of two fics on FF.net. Right before Cell Games. Rated M as of Ch. 57. Ch. 1-56 are rated T. Technically 2 stories; second one starts at chapter 36. </p><p>Piccolo learns the hard way how Namekian reproduction works. Gohan has complicated and conflicting feelings for Piccolo. Turns out the smallest bit of fluid exchange/consumption (be it saliva, blood, sweat, anything) can result in fertilized Namekian egg. They become parents. No one is prepared for this, let alone the complications that come when Son Tenshi is born and they discover just how incompatible Namekian and Saiyan DNA is. But Tenshi is a firecracker and is determined to "be like Grandpa." Even if it means death. Will their awkward family be able to handle it? Will Gohan and Piccolo's relationship survive the stresses of parenthood?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This Little Boy Had Daddy Issues

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy. It's been five years since I wrote those two fics on FF.net where I first came up with this. And, um, I tried to re-read them but couldn't. And I'm embarrassed about them. But I still like the idea of my OC. And I'm better educated now (and have some disability diagnoses now too) and I feel like I'm in a better place to come at this idea. 
> 
> No, I'm not telling those of you who don't know which fics they are. But if this sounds familiar, that's where it's from. (And can you tell the poor saps who are still leaving reviews on a fic on an account I can't access anymore that the rest of it is gonna be here?)
> 
> Also, this can't be stressed enough, THERE IS NO UNDERAGE SEX IN THIS. If you don't want to read about 11-year-old Gohan having sex, you DO NOT have to worry. That's the biggest change that's going to happen with this fic from its predecessor. (And that's the part I'm most embarrassed about now because eh heh heh a lot changes in 5 years. like your own age. and your view of your ability to consent at that age. eh heh heh heh....)

They would be going to the Lookout soon for the Hyperbolic Chamber training. But for now, Piccolo was meditating on his own time, thinking about Cell and what was coming up for them in the big fight. His stomach was working itself into knots, and he was working on keeping himself calm while also not forgetting just how serious and dangerous this was. 

He sensed Gohan approaching, but he didn't open it eyes yet. He heard him land nearby and heard the crunch of grass and leaves as Gohan stepped closer. Gohan was quiet for a few moments, and Piccolo felt his eyes on him. 

It didn't bother him, though he was curious about why he was here in the middle of the night. 

Piccolo opened his eyes and looked at Gohan. 

"Something the matter?" Piccolo asked. 

Gohan shook his head. 

"No more than usual. I'm anxious about the fight. And what might happen." 

Piccolo nodded. They all were. And Gohan felt anxiety more than all of them. While he hadn't really paid much mind to it when they were younger - Piccolo at eight and Gohan at four - he had stopped to think about it during the training with Goku during the three years waiting for the Androids. He could hear Gohan's heartbeat so easily thanks to his hearing. (Honestly, the super hearing made it almost unbearable to be around multiple people at once. The sounds of their hearts beating all together could drive him insane with just that alone, but if you added the external noise of everything else . . . the city could be absolutely unbearable.) Gohan's heartbeat was oddly unique. And not all the time. But it sped up faster and sooner than the others, and it did it in many situations that were non-life-threatening. 

Sometimes it would speed up just because Chichi was in one of her moods or when Goku would go off to hunt for food, and sometimes it seemed like it was speeding up for no reason at all. Piccolo hadn't realized Gohan's heart didn't always beat that fast until he took the time to recognize when Gohan was at rest. While meditating with him. While reading at his leisure, on his own time, on subjects he liked. While sitting alone, being left alone, not noticing or not minding that Piccolo was watching him from the window. Usually while Gohan was asleep, but even then, Gohan would wake up from nightmares. 

He had so many nightmares.... 

Most of the time, though, Gohan's heart rate was going too fast, and Piccolo clued in at some point that it was due to anxiety. Gohan was just always anxious. 

"Does your mom know you're out?" It didn't matter to Piccolo if she didn't, but it would mean that he'd have to prepare to hear her screeching at some point.

Gohan shook his head. "But she and Dad are asleep. I'll be back before they wake up." 

Piccolo nodded. Gohan bit his lower lip, seeming to be thinking about something. 

"Piccolo?" Gohan asked after a while. Piccolo had closed his eyes again and continued to meditate as Gohan waited to speak up, but he opened them again when he spoke up. "Do you ever think about things you haven't done and . . . worry that you'll never get to do them?" 

"Not really," Piccolo answered, not needing to think about it. "Compared to how many things do exist, I enjoy very few of them and already do what I like to do." Piccolo watched Gohan's face as the boy absorbed the information. "Do you?" 

Gohan lifted his head a little to look at Piccolo better, and he nodded. 

"Yeah. Not so much . . . before, but . . . the older I get and . . . the more I read . . . the more I feel like . . . ." Gohan lowered his head, and Piccolo frowned. Was he trying to hide what he was feeling? 

Piccolo uncrossed his legs, then lowered himself to the ground, landing softly and quietly. He really wasn't sure what to ask exactly. He couldn't imagine what it could be that Gohan was worried about missing.... But he could understand the fear of death. He could understand the fear of never seeing his loved ones again. Though Piccolo only had one loved one.... Not that he didn't have affection for Dende and Mr. Popo, but Piccolo _knew_ it was because he fused with Nail and Kami. Gohan was the only one he had a genuine affection for that was fostered on its own in Piccolo's original self. 

"The more you feel like what?" Piccolo asked softly, not wanting to push him if he was changing his mind about opening up to him about it. 

Gohan swallowed hard. "The more I feel like I'm never going to . . . to know what it's like to . . . to be in love with somebody. Or have someone be in love with me. And I know it's stupid to be thinking about that when the fate of the world is at stake but - " 

Piccolo honestly really hadn't expected that, and he really wasn't sure how to respond to it in the least. 

"What do you . . . mean exactly?" Piccolo asked, stopping Gohan before he continued on into a nervous monologue. 

Gohan looked up at him, his face reminding Piccolo of a little owl just a bit. 

"What?" 

"What do you mean when you say 'in love'?" Piccolo clarified. 

"Oh! Well . . . I guess you could say it's slang for romantic love. You know, the kind of love that makes you want to hold hands and kiss and get married and have children with someone?" 

Oh. Piccolo thought about it for a few moments, and he could genuinely not think of a single moment where he wanted to do any of that with anyone. Maybe want to hold Gohan's hand at times, but that was about it. 

Also, he thought about Goku and Chichi and . . . he somehow doubted that what Goku had for Chichi would really be considered romantic love. From what he remembered about that Tenkaichi Budokai, Chichi must've loved Goku at one point, and she probably still did, but their behavior really didn't match up with what Gohan was telling him. He could be wrong, though. 

"I cannot say that I know from experience, but I think I get what you mean." _But_ he didn't really see why that was important. But if Gohan cared about it, he'd respect that. "You're a little young to want to get married and have a kid, though, aren't you?" 

Gohan blushed a little. "Yeah, but with everything that's been happening, there's always been the possibility that I'd never get the chance, and . . . I keep thinking about it lately and . . . that's kind of scary that I might never . . . _get_ to make that choice." 

Piccolo thought about that and conceded that he had a good point. He nodded to show that he understood. 

"And then I get to thinking myself in circles about what it would mean if I was in love anyway and how I'd know if I was, and I really don't know the answers to that, because I haven't lived long enough and . . . and books can only teach me so much, but. . . ." At this point, Gohan's face grew even redder. Piccolo didn't really get it, but he wasn't going to point it out. There was no reason to embarrass him further by pointing out that he noticed that he was embarrassed. "I mean, I know a lot about . . . what people do when they love each other and . . . I don't think I'm ready for a lot of that stuff yet, but . . . I think I'd like to be in love, and . . . I think I know who I'd like to be in love with if I . . . could have the choice. Which I guess I do, in a way, but I can't just snap my fingers and say I'm gonna be in love with someone.... Y'know?" 

Piccolo nodded, even though he hadn't the faintest idea what Gohan was talking about. After thinking about the words, Piccolo figured he was talking about that whole "dream guy" concept he had overheard Bulma going on about at some point or another.... Though he wasn't sure if for Gohan it was "dream man" or "dream woman" or . . . if those words were even the right words to use. Piccolo couldn't quite understand this whole human gender thing. He wasn't sure why women were women and men were men. He just knew that he was given male pronouns and was considered "one of the guys" due to . . . body build, he supposed. The women did look different, and he supposed that was why, but he knew very well that human men had body parts he did not, mainly in the crotch area, and that seemed to be the "main" difference between the two, but that would mean that Piccolo was . . . neither? Especially since he wasn't human. Or Saiyan. 

Eh. Whatever. Piccolo didn't care that much about that. (Life was easy when you could just vanish into the wilderness whenever the headaches grew too big when you thought about things that didn't make sense about everyone else.) 

"What would you want to do with them?" Piccolo asked. 

Gohan's blush darkened, which just confused Piccolo more. 

"P-probably . . . probably kiss him?" 

Piccolo noticed the pronoun, and Gohan seemed to realize that he let the pronoun slip seeing that he almost immediately turned a darker red and looked up at Piccolo, as though waiting for some kind of reaction (or punishment?). Piccolo, however, had neither. 

"P-please don't tell Mom and Dad...!" 

Gohan's heart rate jumped to a rather alarming speed, and Piccolo was utterly confused as to why Gohan was so nervous about it. 

"I won't," Piccolo promised. Gohan's heart rate didn't exactly go down, and that worried Piccolo. But Gohan managed to give Piccolo a small smile. 

After a few moments of silence, Gohan continued. "For the most part, I'd just . . . would like to be hugged and held close and be told that everything was going to be okay and that everyone was safe, including me...." 

He bit at his lower lip a bit, nervously, and he started to fidget a little while not quite looking at Piccolo as he talked. 

"And probably kiss. Kissing . . . at least sounds like it's supposed to be fun." 

His tongue darted out and wet his lips as he let his lower lip go. 

"Maybe that could still happen. Who is he?" 

What Gohan wanted sounded innocent enough. Piccolo knew enough about humans to know that there were things at Gohan's age that he wasn't ready for and shouldn't be engaging in. (Mostly because Chichi refused to do certain things in front of people and would get embarrassed/mad when he or Gohan would walk in on her and Goku having "alone time." During which, Goku always looked rather confused, but that wasn't Piccolo's problem.) But that sounded appropriate. 

Gohan blushed worse than before and refused to look up at him. 

Piccolo hesitated a moment before deciding to just guess. "Dende?" He wouldn't mind if it was Dende. That - that would actually be incredibly cute. Piccolo could feel Nail agreeing with him on that point. 

Gohan shook his head, so Piccolo took another stab at a guess, though he was a bit disappointed. 

"Trunks?" From the future, obviously. Piccolo wouldn't fault him for that, either. Trunks was a good man, much better than his father, and he was thoughtful and kind as well as a skilled fighter. 

Gohan's blush tinged his ears. 

"No, but I won't deny that he's really hot." 

Piccolo realized only after Gohan said that that all of the other options were . . . less than favorable. Piccolo frowned deeply. 

"Please tell me it's none of your father's friends." He doubted any of them would return Gohan's romantic affections, but if any of them tried anything fishy for whatever reason, he would tear their lungs out of their chests and eat them in front of them. 

What? Just because Namekians didn't need to eat to survive didn't mean they had those fangs for nothing. (Nail's memories showed Piccolo that the fangs were left over after years of evolution but that they kept a cultural significance. If a Namekian literally chewed the living hell out of you, you were forever marked as someone who did something unforgivable, like hurting a child or betraying your village.) 

Gohan started to shake his head, but then paused. "Well...." 

Oh dear no please, Piccolo started to mentally pray, but then Gohan continued. Not that it made him feel any better. 

"Depends. Do - do _you_ consider yourself a friend of Dad's?" 

The implications of that were not lost on Piccolo, and it made his own heartbeat speed up. 

Oh. _Oh._

"Gohan...." This wasn't something he really wanted to do today. "I can't say I necessarily feel romantic love, and even if I did, I . . . I know you have a dad already, but you're like _my_ kid...." 

Gohan hung his head. "I . . . I know...." 

Piccolo furrowed his forehead with the help of his eyebrow ridges. If he knew that, then why . . . ? 

The silence between them was heavy and awkward. 

"I . . . I think I should go home now...." 

Piccolo nodded, not going to stop him. He could hear Gohan's heart beating, and he had a feeling getting away and going back home might make it slow down and help the boy feel better. 

"Be careful," Piccolo said, his own little way of reminding him that he did still care about him, no matter what else was going on between them. 

Gohan nodded, but couldn't look up into his face, then flew away. 

While Piccolo knew he was just being honest, he couldn't help but feel rather shitty about making Gohan feel bad.... 

Little did Piccolo know that he was going to make a(n honest) mistake very soon that would end up drawing him and Gohan together . . . if it didn't entirely push them apart.


	2. This Little Namekian Had an Egg

Goku's plan might have been to rest for three days, but that didn't mean Gohan felt all that comfortable with that plan. While he didn't necessarily relish going against his father's wishes, it didn't stop him from meeting back up with Piccolo to train. 

They didn't talk about what they talked about before. Piccolo didn't know how to bring it up, and Gohan seemed to be pretending he had never said anything. 

They were taking a water break, and Piccolo frowned as he realized his animal skin water container was already tapped out. He was about to go off to find water to refill it, but - 

"Um, Piccolo?" 

Piccolo paused, then looked over his shoulder at Gohan. Gohan was blushing a little bit and wasn't exactly looking at him, though his eyes would glance over at him. 

"If - if you wanted to, you could have the rest of mine." 

Gohan's was plastic, and Piccolo couldn't say he really cared for the way the hard plastic felt against his fangs. Unnecessarily hard, if you asked him. But the closest lake was rather out of the way, and it felt . . . like it would be important to Gohan if the offer was taken up. 

Piccolo was never lazy, but he _was_ rather tired from training. And anything that would make Gohan feel better would influence his decisions. 

Importance of things came in this order: Did Piccolo Need It to Survive, Did Gohan Need It to Survive, Would It Keep Gohan Safe, Would It Make Gohan Happy. Piccolo's happiness was more or less all wrapped up in all four. 

The idea of having . . . a different relationship than he already had with Gohan was unappealing. But he loved Gohan more than anything, and that was never going to change. This boy . . . changed him for the better, and . . . he definitely loved him. More than anything. He'd readily die again for him, and he would always want to be there for him. 

But it felt wrong to . . . cross lines and take their relationship in any other direction than it was already going. 

"Sure," Piccolo said. 

Piccolo saw the smile on Gohan's face, and Piccolo fought a smile of his own down. 

He didn't drink all of it, but he did have a decent fraction of what was left of the water in the bottle.

Piccolo knew that Gohan had drunk from the water bottle before bringing it to his own mouth, but he thought that it wasn't going to be a problem. 

While Piccolo had a lot of memories and absorbed knowledge from Nail and Kami, it didn't mean he knew absolutely everything they did. And Kami didn't necessarily know the same information that Piccolo Daimao Sr. had gathered before Goku had killed him. 

In other words. What happened after as the Cell Games were rapidly approaching was . . . unexpected. 

Gohan wasn't there for it. Piccolo had actually been meditating when it happened, as perfectly alone as he could be. 

It started as a rather intense pressure in his chest, and it felt so foreign and sudden that Piccolo almost fell out of the air when it first struck. He lowered himself to the ground as smoothly as he could manage, then reached out for the cliff wall for support. The pressure kept building, but it also moved _upward_ , like it was climbing its way up his throat, and very quickly he was realizing that he was about to vomit something up. He had no idea what it was - he had never actually vomited anything before, and the only thing to leave his mouth was blood when in battle - but it was coming either way, and there was no way to stop it. 

It took only a matter of minutes, but the _thing_ projectile vomited from his mouth and landed upon the dirt. It was slimy and fat and oblong and white, and Piccolo stared at it in shock as he realized it was an egg. 

He had vomited out an egg. 

Without meaning to. 

That most certainly was _not_ supposed to happen! 

Mentally, he sifted through all of Kami's and Nail's memories and thoughts, trying to find an explanation for what just happened. All he could come up with was that Namekians were able to reproduce through the sex organs within their throats and chest, and that they had enough of the required organs to be able to reproduce asexually if necessary. Asexual reproduction Namekians had complete control over and there were no surprises. 

But Piccolo already _knew_ that! 

So Piccolo was left, staring at this egg, having no idea what it was for or what he was supposed to do with it. Or how it got there in the first place. 

Even if he had managed to reach the information needed to realize how it happened, the event in and of itself made him entirely forget about Gohan and the water bottle they shared that most definitely had touched Gohan's mouth before touching Piccolo's own and still had bits of Gohan's saliva on it and mixed with the water. 

Piccolo panicked internally for a while before figuring that the only person he really could ask would be Dende, seeing as how he was the new Guardian of Earth and also Namekian. 

It didn't feel right to . . . _leave_ the egg lying in the dusty dirt, so Piccolo picked it up and put it in the crook of his arm before taking off and heading to the Lookout.


	3. This Little Namekian Was Surprised

Dende hadn't expected Piccolo's arrival at all, though he had picked up on Piccolo's ki signal. (It reminded him of Nail in a way, and that always was rather bittersweet, but he liked it.) 

He certainly hadn't expected Piccolo to have an egg in the crook of his arm. 

"Piccolo!" Dende said, walking up to him. "What brings you here?" 

"I, uh, I have . . . a problem. A Namekian problem. And . . . I'm not entirely sure how it happened or why and...." 

Dende just stared at him for a few moments, then it clicked. 

"Oh! Well, I do know a lot about our race and culture. Um, what was it you needed to know?" 

"I need to know why an egg catapulted itself out of me without permission." 

". . . Oh!" 

Dende's mind immediately started to race with questions. Who was Piccolo in a relationship with? Were they Namekian? If they weren't, did that make the child growing in the egg the first of its kind? A Namekian-human hybrid? Was that even possible? 

"Well, Namekian _asexual_ reproduction is entirely within our control. But the introduction of outside DNA from other living organisms - typically other Namekians - gives an incubation period, then expels the egg from our bodies when the incubation period has ended. Then the egg waits until the child has grown to its full newborn potential and hatches." 

Dende paused, waiting to see if Piccolo had any questions. Piccolo held the egg up and stared at it, but he didn't say anything right away. 

"And that's sexual reproduction, right?" 

"Yes." 

"But I haven't been...." 

Dende stared at Piccolo, and Piccolo looked back at him, and they stared at each other for a few moments. Piccolo's cheeks flushed purple. 

"Um," Piccolo hesitated. "What exactly is Namekian sex supposed to be?" 

Dende's eyes widened. "Wow!" he blurted out without thinking, then quickly covered his mouth, embarrassed for having done such a thing. "I'm sorry! I just - I never expected an adult Namekian to not know." 

Piccolo's blush darkened, and he glared at him. 

"Well...." Dende took a deep breath. "It . . . might be easier if we established a mental link and shared images across it...." _That_ made Dende blush, but Piccolo's amount of flushing stayed relatively the same. 

Piccolo created the mental link - it felt like a tiny spark of electricity in Dende's brain - and Dende focused on images, a combination of imagined ones and ones he had seen while still living on Namek. 

Namekian tongues sliding against each other, teeth clashing, slipping down throats, saliva dripping down lips and chins. It was wet and heated, and then the connection broke, and Dende covered his face to hide the blushing. 

He couldn't handle thinking about Nail in throws of passion and communicating those thoughts to Piccolo. Dende was not supposed to have stumbled upon that, and he didn't want what was left of Nail in Piccolo to know that the discovery had both awaken his Namekian puberty and broke his child heart. (Dende never quite got over his crush on Nail, but he had accepted long before Nail's death that Nail was an adult who was interested in adults, as he should have been.) 

Piccolo, however, developed a twitch in his forehead. 

"Yeah, I definitely have not done that. With anyone. At all." 

Dende emerged from behind his head and lowered them. 

"Oh. Well, the . . . _enthusiastic_ tonguing is more for pleasure. If you wanted the children but not the pleasure, you could do something as simple as sharing a drinking container or spitting inside the other person's mouth. Some . . . peculiar Namekians sometimes would pee in the other's mouth, but that isn't an accepted form of DNA exchange. Biting and drawing blood and then swallowing that blood is a very common form of Namekian sexual assault, though the behavior can be consensual, though rarely is." 

Dende ordinarily wouldn't just launch into being an encyclopedia, but . . . if Piccolo didn't know the basics, he definitely didn't know all of that, and . . . it would be wrong to keep that information from him just because he hadn't asked. It was important to their culture, and if Piccolo interacted with other Namekians, it was bound to come up. 

The purple flush died from Piccolo's face as some of what Dende said seemed to trigger a memory. He looked rather . . . terrified actually. And it made Dende worry. 

"Piccolo?" 

"Sharing a . . . drinking container, you said?" 

"Yes...." 

Piccolo pressed his lips together, and Dende could practically see the wheels moving around in his head. 

"Piccolo . . . who did you share a container with?" 

Piccolo stayed tight-lipped, then didn't answer the question when he spoke up. 

"The whole child-rearing thing. How does that work typically with Namekians?" 

Dende recognized that it was a distraction, but he would allow it. 

"We live by the 'it takes a village to raise a child' ideology, though part of that is because many Namekians are polyamorous by nature and we really don't have two-parent family units like humans do. In some cases, it isn't actually possible to tell which children belong to whom." 

Piccolo gave him a look that could only be interpreted as surprised and perhaps confused, and Dende figured (correctly) that that really didn't mesh with how Piccolo lived. Dende knew he was a very secluded Namekian who appreciated being alone and living alone and keeping his distance. Piccolo honestly was an anomaly among Namekians, though Dende figured it had to do with how Piccolo grew up. 

"While I wouldn't say that raising a child with a single parent would be bad, it certainly wouldn't be understood well by our people. But here on Earth, it's just you and me, and as its parent, you can raise it as you wish." Dende continued. 

He paused, and Piccolo didn't say anything. They stood in semi-awkward silence for a while, Dende hoping that Piccolo would say something - anything - and that Dende would have a chance to find out who the other parent was. 

"Oh!" Dende said. "It's also rather strange for Namekians to have children on accident. Since our sex drive is really only activated when we witness sexual behavior and most sexual behavior is discussed at length beforehand about children and wanting to create the next line of warriors, healers, etc. So . . . I hate to say it, but you're really doing a first, here. In more ways than one. Since it's . . . it's a hybrid, right?" 

Piccolo nodded, but didn't say anything after that. 

Dende was starting to get a wee bit frustrated with that, but he supposed he understood. 

"Human and Namekian?" 

Piccolo blanched a little bit, and that didn't really give Dende a good feeling. 

"I . . . I shared a drinking container with - with Gohan...." 

Dende took a moment to process that, and he continued to just stare at Piccolo after receiving that information. 

"WHAT!?" 

Namekians really did not experience what could be called pedophilia. Due to the nature of their sexual arousal and no Internet on Namek or New Namek, it was incredibly, incredibly rare that children ever partook in sexual activities. Dende couldn't even think of an incident that happened since Guru had to repopulate the planet. Everything and anything close to that happened long before Dende's time. 

Dende got that it was an accident on Piccolo's part and that humans (and Saiyans) had compatible sexual behavior with each other but wasn't so compatible (in terms of being recognized) with Namekian sexual behavior. But still! It was a real shock to hear! Gohan was Dende's age about, so it sounded absolutely outrageous! 

Piccolo looked very uncomfortable (and embarrassed), so Dende didn't press the matter, but holy mother of Earth! 

"Does - does Gohan know he's - gonna be a dad?" 

Piccolo swallowed. "You're the only one I've told about this. I . . . I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to tell anyone else." 

"Of course we have to tell! We have no idea what to expect from a hybrid! It'll be the first of its kind, and what if there are complications?" 

"With . . . hatching?" 

"Gohan's a hybrid, and the baby's a hybrid, and there's no telling how the various different parts of the DNA will match up! If for no other reason, we have to tell so that people will be on stand by in case it needs help!" 

Piccolo hunched his shoulders, and it was clear he didn't _want_ to do it, but Dende could tell that Piccolo could see his point. 

Dende tried to calm down and stop shouting. 

It also didn't help that Dende's new crush was on Gohan. Damn. Though . . . he supposed he still stood a chance. Though he was aware that humans were not exactly open to the whole idea of polyamory on a grand scale, though individually, there were some. And Gohan and Piccolo weren't . . . _technically_ in a relationship like that by any means.... 

Wait, hold your horses, Guardian of Earth, you have bigger things to worry about! 

"Do we . . . have to tell Gohan . . . right away?" Piccolo asked. 

Dende sighed. "Probably. Do you want me to do it?" 

Piccolo didn't answer right away. Dende let him take his time with the answer. 

"That's the coward's way out, isn't it?" 

"Not necessarily," Dende said. "It could just be the easier way. Especially if you're worried Gohan will want space after being told...." 

Piccolo blushed a little and looked back at Dende, and Dende knew the answer was 'yes, please tell him for me.' Dende smiled a little. 

He really wished this wasn't happening right before the Cell Games, but what will be will be.


	4. This Little Boy Was Shocked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan learns he's going to be a dad. So do some of the others.

Gohan traveled to the Lookout with Krillin, Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks. He was nervous about the Cell Games, and he was ready to continue training with his father. 

But he had tried to find Piccolo before heading up there, and . . . he was no where to be found. He could feel his ki signal, but it hadn't helped him find Piccolo, and that was concerning. But he knew he wasn't in danger or hurt or dead, so that at least put him at some ease. 

They reached the Lookout without any problems. Dende stood there on the platform and lifted his hand to wave at them. 

"Hey!" 

Gohan smiled at him and waved back, then landed on the ground. 

"Hi Dende," Gohan greeted. Dende walked over to him and took his hand into his own, and Gohan's smile widened. 

"It's so good to see you again," Dende said. 

"It's good to see you too." 

The others landed near them, Vegeta scowling and Goku, Krillin, and Trunks being amicable and friendly towards Dende. 

"I know you're here for training, but Piccolo is already in the hyperbolic time chamber, training. So you'll have to wait for him to emerge. He should be coming back out in a little while." 

Gohan's eyes widened in surprised. 

"Really? He's already here?" 

Dende nodded. "He came up here last night." 

"Oh...." 

"There's also something I wanted to talk to you about before you started your training." 

"Oh?" 

Dende pulled Gohan along, and Goku and the others looked after them curiously, but they didn't follow. Goku lifted a hand up and scratched his head. 

"Wonder what it is...." Goku said. Krillin shrugged. 

After there was some distance between them and the others, Dende brought their hands higher, holding them together and closer to Dende's own chest. Gohan looked at him curiously, wondering what this was about. 

"What I'm about to say is going to shock you. I'll understand if it's hard to take it." 

"What is it, Dende? You're kind of making it sound like it's something bad." 

"Well, it's not bad, necessarily...." Dende launched into the description on how Namekian reproduction worked, and Gohan absorbed the information easily, though he still had no idea why Dende was telling him about this. "And you see, Piccolo had an egg." 

Gohan's eyes widened. "He did? When?" 

"Just the other day, it seems. He accidentally consumed someone else's DNA - your DNA - and now he and you are going to be parents." 

Gohan stared at Dende for a long moment. 

"Wait, so when he and I shared my water bottle - ?" 

"Yes," Dende confirmed, nodding. 

Gohan's mouth fell open a little bit. Dende let the facts settle in Gohan's head. 

Then Dende watched as Gohan blushed and smiled, and that made Dende smile too. 

"Have you ever wanted to be a father?" Dende asked. 

Gohan shrugged. "I kind of thought about it, but I also wasn't making any decisions about it.... But now that you've told me that, I'm actually pretty happy about it. I can look after him and hold him and teach him things and keep him safe, just like Mom and Dad do for me, and he's Piccolo's child too and - " Gohan's blush darkened. "and I love Piccolo." 

Dende's smile widened. "That's good to hear. Piccolo was worried you'd be upset. He'll be glad to hear that you're okay with this." 

"How is he taking it?" 

Dende's smile turned for the slightly awkward. "That's probably a question only he can answer properly. I don't know him that well, even though he came to me with this first and we're of the same race. If he'd be willing to talk to anyone about how he actually felt, it would definitely be you." 

Gohan nodded. 

Dende and Gohan then walked back to Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, and Krillin. Gohan apparently chose to be as blunt as possible. 

"Daddy!" 

"Yeah, Gohan?" 

"Dende says Piccolo and I are - !" 

Dende couldn't help but laugh a little. "Gohan, I think you should wait for Piccolo to come out of the chamber before you share the news." 

Gohan laughed a little. "I guess you're right. Oh, where is it, by the way? The egg?" 

"I have it in one of the rooms. Mr. Popo is keeping an eye on it right now. It's wrapped up in blankets so it stays nice and warm." 

"Can I see it?" 

Dende nodded. 

"Egg?" Krillin asked, tilting his head to the side and placing his hands on his hips. 

"You'll see," Dende said, leading the way to the egg. 

Vegeta couldn't care less, and he wanted first dibs on the hyperbolic time chamber, so he stayed outside while the others followed Dende into the building and to the room where Mr. Popo and the egg was. 

Mr. Popo smiled at them as they entered. 

"Good morning, everyone. Dende, the egg has been as it has been, in tact and wrapped up in its blankets." 

"Good, good," Dende said, nodding. 

Gohan crouched a little bit so he could be on eye-level with the egg. It was rather amazing. This . . . this was his and Piccolo's child.... They - they could be a family! Like Mom and Dad! He and Piccolo could be - ! 

"C-can I hold it?" Gohan asked. 

"Sure, one second...." Dende picked the egg up gently, then showed Gohan how to hold it, then gently transferred it to Gohan. Gohan held it carefully and continued to look at it, rather in awe of the whole thing. This was going to be a little Namekian-Saiyan-human baby! 

Gohan wasn't sure how much time he spent looking at the egg and tuning out Goku's and Krillin's and Trunks's questions to Dende about the egg, but at some point, he heard footsteps, and Piccolo emerged at the door frame. 

Gohan grinned at him, and Piccolo gave him an uneasy expression in return. 

"Can I tell them? Can I please tell them, Piccolo?" 

Piccolo stared at Gohan for a little while, and Dende could tell that Piccolo could honestly deny Gohan nothing. 

"Go ahead." 

Gohan gently placed the egg back in its blankets, then he started bouncing up and down. 

"Daddy, Piccolo and I are the parents! I'm gonna be a daddy, too!" 

Goku, Krillin, and Trunks just stared at Gohan for a few moments. Then the reactions were semi-predictable. 

"That's great, Gohan!" Goku remarked. 

"WHAT!?" Trunks and Krillin's reaction was a lot more reasonable.


	5. This Best Friend Couldn't Believe

Krillin looked at Goku with an even more shocked expression than he did when Gohan announced that he was going to be a father at eleven-years-old. 

"What do you _mean_ 'that's great'!? He hasn't even hit puberty yet, and he's a father!? Goku, that's the exact opposite of great!" 

Goku looked at Krillin and tilted his head, clearly clueless. 

"What do you mean? I'm a dad." 

Krillin couldn't believe how dense Goku was being. 

"You're also twenty-nine!" 

This did not seem to enlighten Goku at all. Krillin had no idea what else to say because, to him, it seemed absolutely obvious and he didn't have a clue where to start explaining it to someone who . . . didn't get something that obvious. 

Goku however wasn't letting Krillin's apparent outrage at the situation deter him from placing his attention back on Gohan. 

"You're gonna be a great dad, I just know it!" 

Gohan blushed and smiled, clearly happy with the praise he was receiving. 

Piccolo stood awkwardly at the side, arms crossed and frown firmly in place, a purple flush decorating his cheeks. 

Trunks stood to the side as well (though at a different side than Piccolo) and watched the scene unfold with incredulity. He knew Gohan would be a good father - he had taken great care of Trunks, though obviously Bulma had handled the majority of the child-rearing (considering Trunks was her son). But this Gohan - this Gohan right in front of him - looked so small and young, and he absolutely couldn't believe this at all. 

Now, Dende's explanation had covered the basics of Namekian reproduction, so they knew that Piccolo and Gohan didn't necessarily have sexual relations in order for this to happen. And sexual relations between them felt so out of character for both of them, but Piccolo especially, who only ever had Gohan's safety at the forefront of his mind. They didn't ask, and they felt like they didn't need to in order to know that Gohan hadn't been mistreated and that this was a very bizarre accident. 

The group watched as Goku congratulated Gohan, all of them thinking about the situation (Dende was mostly thinking about how sweet it was that Goku was being so supportive). Then Goku turned to Piccolo, still grinning and looking happy for them, and Piccolo's blush darkened and his frown deepened. 

Piccolo wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he was starting to think he might've rather have an angry Goku or something less . . . cheerful. 

"This makes you part of the family, Piccolo! Right?" Goku asked. 

Piccolo was a deep violet color by this point. 

"Technically speaking, yes...." 

Goku's grin widened. 

"That's great! I think Chichi got attached to you hanging around!" 

The realization that they would have to _tell_ Chichi about this dawned on Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, and Trunks all at the same time, and that left just Goku as a cheerful face in the room. The blushes drained from Gohan's and Piccolo's faces, and Krillin and Trunks swallowed hard. 

Goku didn't notice the drop in mood for a few moments, but he picked up on it and looked around at them all, not tuning in to why they were looking like that. 

"What's the matter?" Goku asked. 

"What's the matter, he says," Krillin grumbled. "Goku, Chichi's gonna flip." 

"Flip?" 

Piccolo's eyes widened as he continued to come to some conclusions about how it would end up going with Chichi, and any anxiety he had over the situation as a whole doubled - no, tripled. 

"Fuck," fell from Piccolo's mouth. Gohan peered up at him, alarmed that the word had been spoken. Despite all the murder and wanton destruction around him growing up, language honestly had been kept rather tame surprisingly, so it wasn't a word he heard a lot of the time. 

Chichi was going to kill Piccolo. There was just no getting around that, she was going to _kill_ him. Because she was going to think he had taken advantage of Gohan and she'd have every reason to because she knew just as little as Piccolo did about his reproductive abilities before this ever happened. 

Piccolo repeated himself, and Goku still didn't seem to catch on to what was going on.


	6. This Little Lady Was a Good Mommy

Piccolo took full responsibility of telling Chichi. It felt cruel to put Gohan through it, and Goku probably would just make things worse. And Gohan and Goku needed to do their training in the hyperbolic time chamber. 

Piccolo also wanted some distance between him and the egg - he wasn't even sure he wanted to _be_ a parent at all, but he supposed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. 

He arrived at the Son residence and walked towards the kitchen window. He spotted Chichi inside, doing the dishes and humming to herself. She paused for a moment, then looked up at him. Despite not having the ability to sense ki, Chichi seemed to have an innate talent for noticing when people were nearby. She dried off her hands, then came outside to speak with him. 

"What's going on? Did something happen?" she asked, a small frown tugging at her mouth. 

It had been nothing but worry for her ever since the Android threat appeared, and Cell just made things worse for her. 

She wasn't going to like this one bit. 

Piccolo sighed and decided to launch into it. 

"Something has happened, but no one is hurt or injured. It wasn't a fight or an enemy." 

He blushed purple, and Chichi both relaxed and furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. 

"Okay.... Then what happened then?" 

Piccolo took a deep breath. 

"I got a crash-course in Namekian biology after Gohan shared his water bottle with me. Apparently if I consume any outside DNA, it can result in a fertilized Namekian egg." 

Chichi understood what Piccolo was saying a lot faster than Goku had. Her eyes widened, and she stared at Piccolo for some time. His blush darkened further. 

"I'm going to be a Granma!?" Chichi exclaimed, and Piccolo winced. Her voice tended to be more on the shrill side when she yelled, and it always hurt his ears due to how sensitive his hearing was. 

Piccolo nodded, and Chichi's shock didn't abate. At least for a few moments. 

"And you're telling the truth. You didn't hurt Gohan." 

It wasn't a question, Piccolo realized. She was letting him know that she saw that he wasn't lying and that she believed him. 

Chichi was an amazing woman in her own right, and Piccolo - though he wouldn't say it out loud - felt honored to know her. 

Chichi then smiled. "I guess I should get a place ready for the baby, then. Do you have time to stay and chat?" 

Piccolo nodded. "The others have training on the Lookout. It'll take a couple days." And then the Cell Games would occur. 

"Then come in and tell me everything I need to know about my grandchild." 

Piccolo knew she meant what she needed to know about Namekian biology in order to properly take care of this grandchild. Piccolo followed her inside and talked to her about Namekian eggs, Namekian rates of growth (and how old that meant Piccolo was - once Gohan was done with his next round of Hyperbolic Time Chamber, they'd be back at 4 years apart and he'd be 15 to Gohan's 11, though due to absorbing Kami and Nail, Piccolo had far more knowledge and live experience than a typical 15-year-old of any race), Namekian nutritional needs, etc. This got them on conversations about how human/Saiyan DNA might or might not change certain aspects of Namekian needs, such as nutrition, and Piccolo started to worry about how much of this was going to be trial-and-error. 

Chichi set up a little bed for the egg in the living room, then patted Piccolo's bicep. 

"It'll be all right. I'll be right here to help." 

He managed to smile at her.


	7. These Little Fighters Prepare for War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not linking to the original fan fictions. I don't like them and very prominent elements in those fics remind me of a painful period of my life. Please stop or don't start to ask me for the links.

The training was over. The day had come. Gohan could practically feel his heart beating in his ears. 

He was nervous. Scared, even. This was a normal feeling for him, so he was able to work through it to get out of bed and put his fighting gi on and prepare to head up to the Lookout to meet back up with the others. 

Goku and Piccolo were waiting outside, but Gohan took a moment to check up on the little egg. It was still unhatched, and they were curious as to how long it would be unhatched. The rules with crossbreeding weren't exactly clear, but Piccolo and Dende had made it pretty clear that ordinarily it would have hatched almost immediately. 

Still, while it wasn't a child just yet, it still looked rather cute, wrapped up in blankets with a soft pillow underneath it. Chichi was going to be taking good care of it while they were gone, and hopefully . . . hopefully they would be able to defeat Cell and give this precious child a peaceful, safe life. One where it wouldn't need to fight to survive and just be a kid. 

That's what Gohan wanted for it more than anything in the world. 

Gohan gently kissed the shell, then went out the door. 

They instant-transmissioned to the Lookout where the others were, then instant-transmissioned to the Cell Games. 

Goku fought Cell, and while it was a tough battle, Gohan had faith that Goku would defeat him. 

But then . . . Goku stopped. 

Goku came up to Gohan and said that he, Goku, the strongest man Gohan had ever known, the hero, _his_ hero, couldn't do it. 

"I'm not strong enough to defeat Cell, Gohan. But you are." 

"W-what?" 

The world was falling to pieces with just a few words. His fear sky-rocketed, and the sound of his own heart was near-deafening. 

His thoughts immediately went to his unborn child and, if anything bad happened, it would be without one of its parents. 

If everyone died, the world would be destroyed, but if Gohan couldn't do it and somehow Cell was still defeated, that little Namekian-Saiyan child would be without his other parent. 

That thought was paralyzing. 

"N-no, Dad, I can't! You're - you're you! You're the strongest man in the universe! You defeated Frieza!" 

"You've made so much progress in your training, Gohan. After what we did in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, you're so much stronger than me. All you have to do is believe in yourself, and only you'll be able to defeat Cell." 

"Goku, have you absolutely _lost_ your mind?!" Piccolo demanded. Gohan could name a few instances where he was more relieved than in that moment to hear Piccolo's voice, but it was only a few. 

"Yeah," Krillin chimed in. "You can't seriously be thinking about sending Gohan to fight that monster! He's strong, yeah, but he's just a kid! And you're Goku!" 

"Why do you guys keep stating that as a reason why Gohan can't be stronger?" Goku asked, but no one answered. 

Gohan was having trouble keeping his breathing regulated, and between that and his heart palpitations, what he realized was _very_ sweaty palms, and his now-feeling-very unstable legs, he realized he was having a panic attack. 

"Dad, you can't be serious. What if I fail? If I'm as strong as you say and if I'm really the only one who can beat him, then we're screwed if I fail! We'll all die, and then Mom and the baby - !" 

"You won't fail, Gohan. You'll win, and you'll make the world a much safer place for your and Piccolo's baby. He'll hatch, and then we'll be all one big happy family. And it'll be all because of you." 

Goku was smiling encouragingly, but it did nothing to ease any of Gohan's worries. As nice of an image that that was, he was still terrified of failing. 

Piccolo was gritting his teeth, Gohan could hear it just behind him. 

"You planned this, didn't you?" Piccolo demanded. "You knew you wanted Gohan to fight the whole time, and you chose only _now_ to bring it up!" 

Goku turned his head to look at Piccolo. "Yeah." 

"That's all you have to say about that!? And you're using your _grandchild_ as a way to convince him to do it!?" 

". . . Yeah. . . ?" Goku's tone of voice indicated that he saw absolutely nothing wrong with that at all and was wondering what Piccolo was getting at.

"What is _taking_ so long?" Cell yelled up from down below at the tournament ring. 

"Just a minute! Gohan will fight you shortly!" Goku shouted down. 

"The hell he's not!" Piccolo argued. 

"You're sending a _child_ to fight me? You choose to insult me? Is this all a joke to you, Goku?" Cell continued to shout up to them.

"He's the only one who can do it, Piccolo. He has to!" 

"Are you even listening to yourself!?" Piccolo glared at Goku, and Goku continued to not seem to get why they were even arguing in the first place. 

"Hey," Yamcha asked, tapping Gohan on the shoulder. "You okay?" 

Gohan shook his head. 

"Panic attack?" 

Gohan nodded. 

Yamcha dug through a pocket and pulled out a folded up brown paper bag. 

"Here, breathe in this. It'll help." 

Gohan took it gratefully, unfolded it, then proceeded to do just that. 

Piccolo and Goku stopped arguing once the paper bag was making crumpling noises as Gohan breathed in and out of the bag, both of them (and Vegeta) wondering what the heck he was doing. Krillin and Tien watched, pitying expressions starting to appear on their faces. Trunks just looked mildly surprised that Yamcha had a brown paper bag on him, and Yamcha patted Gohan on the shoulder comfortingly. 

"I'd have offered the Xanax I've got, but you haven't taken that before, have you?" Yamcha asked.

Gohan shook his head no. 

"Thought not. Wouldn't be a good idea to take foreign meds before a fight." 

Gohan took one more breath inside the bag, then lowered it to breathe out. 

"Yeah. You're right. Thanks." Gohan said, handing the bag back to Yamcha. 

"No problem." 

Gohan took another deep breath and breathed out slowly. Then he nodded to himself and schooled his facial expression. 

"Okay. I'll do it," Gohan said.

Goku smiled, pride in Gohan showing. Piccolo was still angry and worried and clearly wasn't happy. 

Gohan would do it. For his child. 

He had a name picked out for their child, and he still needed to share it with Piccolo to see what he thought. 

He'd do it for Tenshi.


	8. This Little Boy Won the War and Got to Go Home

Gohan felt something that he really had never felt before. He felt . . . powerful. Strong. For the first time in his life, he was the strongest one on the field and knew it. He was kicking Cell around like a toy, and Gohan couldn't describe it very well, but he felt . . . a surging _emotion_ with this power. He wondered if Goku or Vegeta or Trunks ever felt like this. But he felt . . . . 

He felt like making Cell's pain last for as long as possible. There would be no mercy from him - and death was too kind of one. 

"Gohan! Finish him now!" Goku shouted down from the cliff. "Gohan!" 

Gohan wasn't listening anymore, though. 

"What are you doing!?" 

Gohan wanted Cell to feel the same pain that he delivered Yamcha, Android 16, 17, and 18, all those people he absorbed - ! 

"Gohan, you have to finish him off! Are you really going to risk the fate of the entire world and your baby like this!?" 

The mention of Tenshi made something snap in his head, and his desire for torture and revenge vanished. A silent horror settled into himself as he realized that he had gotten so full of himself and had gotten so zero-focused on causing pain that he had forgotten just how dangerous Cell could be - and that you didn't need to be stronger than your opponent necessarily in order to win. He had gotten cocky, and he felt . . . shocked at himself for what he had been doing. 

He re-focused himself, then let out a battle cry as he prepped for the final blow. 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Gohan collapsed onto his back on the ground, panting hard. He had won. Everyone was alive, and he had won. He could hear the others landing from jumping off the cliff and coming over to him. His energy was spent, and he was bleeding in places and his body was sore - both from fighting and for having held the Super Saiyan stage for such a long time. It was actually rather significant how much more relaxed he felt now that he was back in his original, base form. 

Goku appeared in Gohan's vision, wearing a grin full of pride. 

"You did it! I knew you could!" 

Gohan managed a small smile in response, a warm feeling in his chest stirring. 

Goku picked him up, cradling him in his arms. Gohan turned his head and looked at the others: Krillin, grinning with relief and joy that Cell was dead and Gohan was alive, as were Yamcha, Tenshenhan, and Trunks. Vegeta was being Vegeta, and Piccolo . . . . 

Gohan furrowed his eyebrows as he saw that Piccolo was frowning and not looking at him, but at Goku. He looked back at his father, then at Piccolo, wondering if something had happened while he had been fighting Cell. 

There was then talk about needing to get the Dragon Balls together again, and Krillin and Yamcha took the helm of that responsibility while Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo went back to the house and Chichi. Trunks went with Krillin and Yamcha, and Vegeta . . . no one really knew where Vegeta went. Tenshenhan went back to Master Roshi's to meet back up with Chaotzu. 

Goku instant-transmissioned them out in front of the house, and Chichi either was learning how to sense ki or just had great motherly instincts or perhaps had been waiting the entire time to see if she could hear them return because she opened the front door immediately and found the three of them standing there. 

"Oh thank God!" she cried, running to them. 

"Hey, Mom," Gohan replied. 

"Gohan, don't worry, I have a first-aid kit on stand-by in the house, we'll get you back to health in no time." 

She glared at Goku, though, and Goku blinked in confusion, wondering why she was looking at him like that. It honestly looked a lot like the look Piccolo was still giving him. 

"How could you let him fight!?" Chichi scolded, and Goku just kept looking at her like he had no idea why she was upset. 

She let them inside, and Ox King got to work on making a pot of tea while Chichi bandaged Gohan up and cleaned him up with a wet washcloth. As she was doing that, Piccolo sat crosslegged close by, glaring at Goku still. 

"Goku," Piccolo spoke up, and Chichi gave pause to what she was doing and she and Gohan both looked over at Piccolo to see what he was going to say. 

"Yeah, Piccolo?" Goku asked. 

"If you ever use _my_ child to convince Gohan to do anything nearly as dangerous as that again, I will kill you. He is not a bargaining tool to guilt Gohan into doing things you want him to do." 

"You did what!?" Chichi exclaimed, and Goku continued to look like he didn't understand why they were mad. 

Goku rubbed the back of his head, eyebrows furrowed. "But he really was the only one who could beat Cell. He just needed a little encourage- " 

"That wasn't encouragement, it was manipulation, and I will end you if I see it again, understand!?" Piccolo scolded, his fangs flashing with the threat. 

"Okay, okay, I understand," Goku said, holding his hands up. But he still had that confused expression on his face, so it was up in the air as to whether or not he really understood or not. 

Gohan wasn't entirely sure what Piccolo was saying right then, but it was more out of having a blind spot to the unintentional-but-still-hurtful behavior Goku exhibited in his role as a father than an inability of understanding the difference between encouragement and manipulation and why manipulating your child is wrong. 

Not that Gohan wasn't internalizing things even if he wasn't consciously aware of the psychological damage. He certainly was. And it would all rear an ugly head sooner rather than later. 

But right then, Gohan was just content to be safe at home with his mother, father, grandfather, Piccolo, and his unhatched child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for the re-writing portion. The rest of the fic will be entirely fresh and not have previously been on ff.net. And the entire reason I wanted to rewrite this idea in the first place. It's so much better without the sex and with author awareness of sexuality and abuse and how adults actually think, holy shit.


	9. Gohan Had a Little Baby

There wasn't much resting after the first couple days back from the Cell Games. 

Ox King had been staying with them and helping with the house as Piccolo and Chichi were quietly discussing how this arrangement was going to work. Gohan didn't quite know what they were talking about specifically, but he heard words like "sleeping arrangements" and "chores expectations" and Gohan couldn't keep the small blush off his face, knowing that it had something to do with Piccolo staying with them. 

The bassinet the egg was resting inside was placed near the table so they could keep an eye on it while they were all in the kitchen, Chichi and Ox King doing the actual cooking and Goku attempting to show Piccolo how to set the table, but Gohan ended up just shaking his head and taking over for him. Piccolo caught on easily enough and committed it to memory. (It wasn't that Goku didn't know how to set the table, it was just that his detail orientation was weak.) Goku didn't mind Gohan taking over, either. That gave him the opportunity to hover over the egg and stare at it expectantly, a small smile on his face. Somehow, Goku was the most excited for it, as strange as it seemed, though Gohan was still excited - and nervous - for it to hatch. For Chichi, she was resigned to it and more than willing to do what she could, and Piccolo seemed to be more on the nervous side of things. 

The rice was just about finished when Goku let out a little shout. 

"It's hatching!" 

Everyone stopped what they were doing and hurried to the bassinet to watch the egg - and it indeed was hatching. 

The egg cracked and it moved slightly, and everyone waited with baited breath for it to finally emerge. 

Piccolo's expression slowly turned from curious and full of suspense to concern after some moments passed. 

"I don't think I took this long...." he said, frowning. 

The Sons looked over at him, eyes wide and mouths curved in little 'o's of surprise and concern. 

"Really?" Gohan asked. 

"I mean . . . It was years ago, but...." Piccolo's frown deepened. 

A little green arm poked out of the egg, and more eggshell tore away, and everyone's attention went back to the egg. 

"Nah, see, Piccolo? He's doing fine - " Goku started to say as they saw the child's little face emerge from the gooey insides of the shell. 

Piccolo knew something was wrong when he saw it gasping for air, and it showed on his face enough that when Gohan looked up at him again, happy to finally see his baby, that any happiness he had about this was overwhelmed with fear. 

"Piccolo, what's wrong?" 

"I - I don't think he can breathe," Piccolo said. "Goku, get Dende, now!" 

Goku stared and blinked at Piccolo as Piccolo talked, but after given a direct order, Goku quickly instant-transmissioned to the Lookout, grabbed Dende with little to no explanation, and then brought him back to the Sons. 

Dende blinked rapidly, realizing where he was and what was happening. Immediately when he saw the baby, he realized what was wrong and quickly went to work. 

"Oh dear," Dende said, hovering his hands over the baby and working his healing powers. "This doesn't look good at all." 

"What's wrong? He really can't breathe?" Gohan asked, going from slightly fearful to rather panicking. 

"He's not getting nearly enough air," Dende said, hesitant to say he couldn't breathe, but.... "I can help, but I don't know how helpful it will be in the long run." 

Just having Dende helping him with his powers seemed to put some of the strain off of him, but not entirely. He still gasped for air and seemed too weak to kick or push the rest of the shell away from itself. Dende gritted his teeth. 

"Is there any kind of human invention that can help him breathe?" Dende asked, really nervous. 

"At the hospital," Chichi said. 

"Goku, take us there _right now_ ," Dende urged, and Goku grabbed hold of the bassinet and Dende and instant-transmissioned them to the hospital - also taking everyone who was touching the bassinet with them, which was Gohan and Chichi. 

Piccolo had just barely grabbed hold of Gohan's shoulder to have been included in the action, leaving Ox King to handle the stove and food. 

The next few hours were terrifying, but the doctors managed to save him and help him breathe with a machine, asked no questions about who the parents were, and explained that the baby simply developed in such a way where its lungs just would not be able to support it. 

Piccolo felt angry - at himself mostly - and Gohan gripped onto Piccolo's gi, terrified of the idea that he'd already lose his baby so soon after it was born - so soon after defeating Cell so it could be safe. 

Gohan had already fallen in love with the poor little creature, and he wanted Tenshi to be happy and healthy. 

The doctors told them that it would be their decision on what to do about the baby and left them alone to talk about it amongst themselves. 

After a while of tense silence, Goku spoke up, "What . . . are we deciding exactly?" 

Chichi took a deep breath. "If we're going to let it have the life support it needs or if we're going to let it die," she explained, her voice quiet. 

Goku's eyes widened, as did Gohan's. Piccolo's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything as Gohan burst out, "I don't wanna kill my baby!" 

He said it a bit too loudly, so some people looked over at them when he said it, and Chichi looked at him with a sad face. But none of them said anything. 

Piccolo lifted his arm and wrapped it around Gohan to comfort him. Gohan realized he was close to tears, and he let Piccolo pull him closer. 

"I don't want it to die, either," Goku said. "Can't we feed it a senzu or something?" 

"Senzus restore you to your utmost possible health, don't they?" Dende asked. "If this is what his lungs are completely capable of, a senzu won't help." And were senzus even good for small babies, was another question Dende had but it didn't feel like the right time to voice it. 

Piccolo didn't know what to do. He didn't know what the right decision was. And he didn't want to upset Gohan any further. 

"We'll give it some time to think about it. If it . . . dies while we're thinking, then the universe had the answer for us," Piccolo said after a while. 

Gohan sniffed, some tears rolling down his face. Piccolo gently squeezed Gohan's shoulder. 

"Did . . . did you have a name picked out?" Piccolo asked softly. 

Gohan nodded. "Tenshi." 

"Hm. Son Tenshi it is then." 

That was the least Piccolo could do in this situation. 

In the end, they chose to work on keeping Tenshi alive. 

Soon after that decision, Chichi realized she was pregnant. 

The Son household would be peaceful no more.


	10. The Skin Was Green As Leaves

At three years old, Son Tenshi was rather fed up with the giant heavy oxygen tank that had to follow him everywhere. He wasn't strong enough to lift it, so he had to wait for someone to come over and help him carry it if he was going to walk anywhere. It was very annoying. It was just too heavy, and how was he supposed to keep up with Goten who was waddling around or his daddy and mommy? 

Tenshi couldn't understand all the conversations Daddy and Mommy had, but sometimes there was shouting about what Tenshi could and couldn't do. Tenshi liked the sound of Mommy wanting to help him build up his strength so he could carry the oxygen tank, but Tenshi also wasn't sure what "training" actually entailed. 

Grandpa did it enough, though. He was always training, sometimes especially when Grandma was angry at him. And Mommy would go off to train with Grandpa while Daddy either read those big books or helped Grandma with cooking. 

Tenshi wanted to see it, but Tenshi was stuck inside the house thanks to the stupid oxygen tank. 

Tenshi stood up in his bed, tugging at the oxygen tank and trying to get it to move. 

"Where are you wanting to go, Tenshi?" Daddy asked, walking over to him and picking the oxygen tank up. 

Tenshi pouted, but then pointed at the front door, where Grandpa and Mommy were doing their training thing. 

Daddy walked with Tenshi to the front door and pushed it open, but Daddy stayed in the doorway instead of actually going outside, like Tenshi wanted to. Tenshi kept walking out, only stopping with the tube connected to the oxygen tank and the mask attached to Tenshi's face tugged too insistently. Tenshi stood there, watching Grandpa and Mommy train. 

It was his first time seeing it, and he was amazed. 

Mommy threw punches at Grandpa, and Grandpa blocked, and they moved almost as though they were dancing like the people on the TV sometimes did, but there was something so very different about it, something that really excited Tenshi. His eyes widened, and he took a deep breath of the oxygen through his mask. 

"Daddy, is this training?" 

"Yeah, it is," Daddy answered, finally stepping further outside, but putting a hand on Tenshi's shoulder once he was standing beside him. 

"What's it for?" Tenshi asked, not taking his eyes off of Mommy's form. 

"It's martial arts, and it's to keep them fit and strong, both for their health and in case bad people come to attack the planet." 

"Like in those stories Grandpa tells?" 

"Like in the stories," Daddy said, and Tenshi could see the frown on his face. 

Tenshi looked back at Mommy and Grandpa. They looked _beautiful_. Especially Mommy - the sweat rolled down his arms and face, and the power and strength that made Tenshi feel safe and happy whenever Mommy would stand over his bed or hold him felt as though it had a form that Tenshi could touch if he wanted. It wasn't really a sensation Tenshi could really put into words at three-years-old, but what was being birthed inside of his brain was something that his grandfather - Son Goku - and his mother - Piccolo - knew very well, as did Vegeta. The thirst for fighting, for strength. 

"It's beautiful, Daddy!" Tenshi said in that adorable little kid voice that took its time with pronouncing each of the syllables and letters. 

Tenshi felt the tube tug again, and he turned his head to see that Daddy was headed back inside, still holding onto the tank. 

"No, Daddy, I want to watch!" 

Tenshi tugged on the tube, and the only reason the tank came any closer to Tenshi was because Gohan was fearful of the tube detaching. 

"It's time for your and Goten's writing lesson," Daddy responded, and Tenshi pouted greatly. 

"But I never gets to watch!" 

Tenshi had inherited Gohan's tendency to be a crybaby - he was just three - and it didn't take long for him to devolve into tears and crying. 

Needless to say, it interrupted Piccolo and Goku's training session pretty quickly as both men came over to see what was the matter. 

"Hey, buddy," Goku said, picking Tenshi up and accepting the oxygen tank as Gohan handed it to him. He held Tenshi in one arm and carried the tank in the other hand. "What's the matter?" 

Tenshi sniffed and took off the mask just enough so he could wipe his nose. He put the mask back afterwards. 

"I - I wanted to see you training and I never gets to see you training and it is beautiful and Daddy wantsed writing doing instead." 

"Oh man, really? Daddy's turning into Grandma, huh?" 

Gohan gave Goku a glare that was honestly very reminiscent of one of Chichi's, but Goku ignored it entirely. 

"Writing is important, Tenshi," Piccolo interjected. "But we'll find a time for you to watch your grandfather and I train, okay? It is something you should know about, considering it's something we all do." 

Piccolo looked pointedly at Gohan, and Gohan's glare softened enough to show that he was having conflicting emotions and felt bad about it. 

"Really? I can watch later?" Tenshi asked. 

"Yeah!" Goku answered. "Now c'mon, maybe you can teach me and your mommy a couple things! Did you know I didn't learn how to write until I was four times your age?" 

"No way, really!?" 

"Uh-huh! And Gohan's still teaching Piccolo - " 

"Goku. Shut up," Piccolo growled. It wasn't his fault he hadn't needed to know how to read or write until he started living with the Sons and they started needing both Piccolo and Goku to get a damn job. At least the only thing preventing Piccolo right then from getting one was the fact he was needing to learn how to read the paperwork he would need to sign. 

Goku laughed nervously, but all four of them went back inside. Goten was running around and Gohan went and put a hand on his head to keep him from running straight into a table corner. 

"Study room, kiddo," Gohan said. 

"Do we get to use the stencils again?" Goten asked as he let Gohan redirect him to the study room - which was really just what had been Gohan's bedroom when he was Goten and Tenshi's age. 

"You can use them some, but not the whole time," Gohan answered. 

Goku helped Tenshi get to the study room, then came back to Piccolo in the hallway. He scratched the back of his head. 

"Man, he really is turning into Chichi, though," Goku remarked. "Wonder why that is." 

Piccolo just stared at Goku. Really? Piccolo knew exactly why Gohan was behaving like Chichi, and he honestly didn't blame Gohan. He just didn't want Tenshi to ever grow up like he did and have to save the world at the age of 11 or younger. But he wasn't approving of what was essentially preventing Tenshi from getting stronger physically so he could take better care of himself when the time came. He might be a child now, but he wouldn't be forever. 

He couldn't wait for Chichi to get back with the thing with wheels that was supposed to help Tenshi transport himself around the house and other places by making it so he could just roll the tank wherever he needed to go. The kid needed better upper arm strength, and a little cart or whatever it was would help start that process. 

He knew Gohan's heart was in the right place, but he was getting in the way of Tenshi being able to do things that his lungs did not prevent him from doing. 

And Goku apparently was dense as hell.

Speak of the Devil, though (not that Chichi is the devil, far from it), Chichi entered the house - and not alone. 

"I got the cart for the air tank, and look who I ran into," Chichi said. 

"Hey, Goku!" Krillin greeted, 18 standing a ways behind him. She was noticeably pregnant and was due any day now. She was still fashionable as hell, either way. 

"Hey! How's it going?" 

The adults (Piccolo actually counted for once, due to turning 18 recently) gathered in the kitchen, letting Gohan focus on the lesson for the children. Chichi set immediately to making tea for everyone, especially 18 and asked if she was hungry at all and what she wanted. 18 gave Chichi a rare smile as she answered, and then suggested, "Make one of the men do it, you've been busy all day yourself." 

"Oh no, you don't want that, Goku has no sense of what's good for food during a pregnancy and Piccolo is a disaster at cooking." 

Piccolo flushed purple and refrained from saying anything. Goku laughed while rubbing the back of his neck. 

They were reminded of Tenshi's good Namekian hearing as they heard his voice flutter from the study room. 

"Grandma's back with Uncle Krillin and Auntie 18! Can we haves break now? Please?" 

"No, you need to focus or you won't learn it," Gohan responded. 

"But I wants to see if Auntie 18 had the baby!" 

"Me too! Me too!" Goten chimed in. 

Only Piccolo could hear Gohan's exhausted groan. 

"Tenshi, do what your father says," Piccolo called back there, knowing Tenshi would hear it no matter how loudly he said he. 

Tenshi sighed, then called back, "Yes, Mommy." 

Krillin tilted his head a bit. "That reminds me. I was wondering. Why _does_ he call you Mommy? You're a guy. Aren't you?" 

Piccolo rested his face in his palm, giving Krillin a look that said he gets the question a lot. 

"I use male pronouns and have been identifying as male, but biologically speaking, I am neither male or female from the human perspective. Namekians only have one gender. Since he's being raised in human culture, I figured it'd just be easier if we stuck to a name that fit the role I have in his life, which essentially is birth giver. Which, as far as I can tell, is the function of a mother at its most basic core. Everything else is decoration indicating who is a good mother and who is a bad one." 

Piccolo wasn't going to admit to Krillin that being called Mommy gave him a warm feeling in his chest that wasn't exactly a physical sensation. The name came before Piccolo's technical reasoning for allowing it, and Piccolo wasn't willing to give the title of Mommy up just because his gender identity didn't match up with the social expectation. 

It wasn't Krillin's business. He hadn't even told Gohan about it. It was his little secret, and he liked it that way. 

"I guess that makes sense. Just don't go around telling everyone that 'birth giver' is the function of a mother. You're gonna get your head bit off that way." Krillin said. 

"Why?" Piccolo asked, genuinely confused. 

Krillin sighed. "Long, complicated history of human men being assholes to human women. It just doesn't sound good." 

"People might think that's how you see women as a whole," 18 chimed in. 

". . . Why? Not all women give birth, and I'm not a woman and I have." Sort of. Laid an egg. Whatever. 

"Long, long story, and with your kid's good ears, it might not be the best conversation to have here in the house," Krillin said. 

Piccolo gave Krillin a glare but didn't pursue the topic further. 

By the time the tea was made and the food was set on the table, Gohan emerged with the children, carrying Tenshi's oxygen tank. Piccolo took Tenshi from Gohan and put him in his lap, and Gohan immediately collapsed into a nearby chair, looking exhausted. 

"You doing okay, Gohan?" Krillin asked, pretty concerned. 

"Puberty sucks," Gohan grumbled. 

"Yeah, it does," Krillin agreed, though his face showed that he was thinking a lot more than what he was saying - that being a dad and going through puberty must've been doubly hard. "You getting enough sleep?" 

Gohan mumbled something unintelligible and that was that. Chichi poured him a cup of tea, and Gohan accepted it gratefully. 

Tenshi stared up at Piccolo, eyes having a curious shine to them. "Mommy?" 

"Yes, sweetheart?" 

Something about the way he said the word sweetheart tended to make Goku, Gohan, and Chichi smile fondly at him, and he wasn't sure why. 

"If Namekians just have one gender, does that mean I have to be a boy?" 

Now that was an interesting question. One he didn't immediately have an answer to. It made everyone else raise their eyebrows and give some thought to it too. 

"Good question," Piccolo admitted, and Tenshi didn't stop staring at him until he spoke again. "I suppose that means you can be whatever you want to be." 

"Whoa...." 

Piccolo chuckled a little bit and gently placed a hand atop the kid's little bald head. 

"You can think about it." 

Tenshi nodded, then he grinned up at Piccolo.

A couple weeks later, after asking Piccolo to zap some cute but very different clothes and playing with Chichi's make-up and playing pretend games with Goten, Tenshi announced that he was actually a she and wanted to be referred to as daughter instead of son. The transition between pronouns was easier than Piccolo had thought it had been, though Goku noticeably had days where he really tripped up with pronouns and seemed to be having genuine difficulty with the comprehension of gender as a whole and would switch between pronouns for everyone when he realized he was getting Tenshi's wrong, then just confuse himself. Then the next day, he'd be back on track and use the right pronouns and would be rather relieved that it wasn't as hard as it had been the day before. Goku's occasional severe difficulty with it apparently concerned Chichi enough that Piccolo once overheard her talking out loud to herself about whether or not she should take Goku to see a doctor. 

But Gohan and Piccolo loved their daughter and would love her no matter what. 

Her being a girl was a lot easier for Gohan to swallow than her desire to be a martial artist like Goku.


	11. And Everywhere That Goten Went

The cart helped Tenshi quite a bit with getting around, but it also revealed that Tenshi was quite the adventurer and could get into plenty of trouble, especially without anyone to keep a close eye on her. 

Despite having two grandparents and both parents in the home, the following screech ended up getting heard quite a bit in the mountainous area. 

"TENSHIIIIIIII! GOTENNNNNN!" Gohan screamed. 

His voice reverberated throughout the mountains, and that alerted Goku - who had been in the middle of fishing for the family - instant-transmission to where he felt the children's ki signals. 

He took a moment to take in the surroundings, and his face blanched as he saw just how much trouble Tenshi had found herself. 

Tenshi was struggling to get her air tank and cart out of a crevice in some rocks, all while a tiger was steadily approaching her, thinking it had found itself quite the tasty meal. Goku quickly intervened, punching the tiger in the jaw. The tiger reeled in the opposite direction, and Goku quickly went to Tenshi's aide, pulling the cart out of the crevice. 

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Tenshi said, her expression showing that she was putting the situation behind her rather well considering the live-and-death circumstances. 

"What're you doing out here? Gohan's really worried." 

Tenshi rolled her eyes. "He's always worried," she said rather scathingly. Goku raised an eyebrow, but he lacked an admonishment for her tone that Chichi or Piccolo would've had. 

Instead, he just asked, "Where's Goten?" 

Tenshi pointed to the side, and out popped Goten from some shrubbery. 

"I found some mushrooms!" Goten declared, and he held one up and was about to pop it into his mouth. 

"Don't!" Goku yelped, hurrying over to snatch the mushroom from Goten. It happened faster than Goten could see, and he turned his head to look at his dad. "Those are poisonous!" 

Goten's eyes widened. "Really?" 

Goku nodded rapidly, then picked Goten up. Goten let the mushrooms fall to the ground as Goku carried him back to Tenshi. 

"C'mon, let's get home. There's plenty of food there!" Goku said. 

"Mmmmm. Okay!" Goten agreed. Goku smiled; Goten was pretty easy to look after due to his agreeableness. 

Tenshi on the other hand..... 

She crossed her arms and turned her body away from her grandfather. 

"I don't wanna! And I don't eat, anyway." 

Goku frowned. 

"But Tenshi, I can't leave you here by yourself. Gohan would kill me." 

Tenshi seemed to be weighing her options, then she sighed and gripped onto Goku's gi pants. Goku sighed in relief and teleported them back to the house. 

Gohan was standing right out front, arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed, and a deep frown cemented on his face. Goku laughed nervously at the sight of it. 

"See? They're okay!" Goku said, trying to assure his oldest son (whose temper seemed to grow and become more and more like Chichi's as time went on, despite Chichi's own temper mellowing out). (You'd think Chichi was siponning her temper into their oldest, which Goku certainly hoped wasn't the case, because while Gohan being the strongest person on Earth was totally Goku's fault, that didn't mean that temper didn't scare him when it was directed _at_ him.) 

Gohan strode up to them, looking mostly at Tenshi instead of Goku and Goten. 

"Just what made you think you could go into the forest _alone_?" Gohan demanded. 

Goten hid his face in Goku's shirt, but Tenshi apparently had no sense of self-preservation. She put an incredibly sassy pout on her face. 

"We wanted to!" she responded, and Goku laughed even more nervously. 

"H-hey, I could look after them for a while, they could fish with me - " but Goku didn't get to finish the suggestion before Gohan cut him off. 

"Give her here. _Now_." 

Goku complied, gently pushing Tenshi towards Gohan. Tenshi protested, but Gohan picked her and her air tank and cart up and carried her inside. She started kicking and shouting to be put down - "I CAN WALK!" - and Goku watched for a long moment as he laughed nervously mostly to himself now. 

Goten was still hiding his face in Goku's shirt, even as the sounds of them shouting died down and he carried Goten into the kitchen. 

"Hey, Goten, it's okay. Everything's fine now. Gohan's not mad at you." 

Goten refused to let his face emerge. Goku smiled a little. 

"C'mon, let's get you some food." 

Meanwhile, Gohan and Tenshi passed Chichi's office - which was really just Goku and Chichi's bedroom repurposed to be half-office space for her new in-home business. She and Piccolo had become the breadwinners in the family, to fund the schooling that Chichi wanted to get for Gohan in addition to some other things, like electricity bills. Chichi, being on the phone, could only spare them a glance before she had to make up a lie to her customer about why there was a screaming child in the background. 

Gohan dragged Tenshi to the school room, where Gohan gently put the air tank down before putting Tenshi in her chair. 

Tenshi pouted mightily as Gohan put his hands on his hips and stared down at her. 

"You're to sit here and think about what you've done." 

"I didn't do nothing!" 

"Double negative." 

Tenshi blushed purple; they had gone over those this past week. 

"Screw you!" 

Gohan's eye twitched, and Tenshi felt a teeny bit of regret after saying it. Silence hung over them for a while before Gohan spoke up again. 

"I am locking the windows and door. You will sit here and think about what you did wrong. I will come back, and we will talk about it. Only then will I decide if you've sat in here long enough. You are free to do your studying and homework in here if the need occurs." 

Tenshi fought the urge to roll her eyes. The rules were the same as always when she was put in time-out. She kind of wondered if he was trying to make her substitute her desire for adventure with the fact that he didn't object to her reading or doing math and thus those hobbies faced less resistance. She was onto this scheme, and she wasn't going to let it work. 

Gohan did as he said he would, locking the door behind him after the windows were taken care of. Tenshi pouted and looked around the room. She didn't want to read books about adventures or do math or penmanship practice. She wanted to _go_ on adventures, like Grandpa and Mommy and Daddy when Mommy and Daddy didn't get _boring_. She wanted to train and be a fighter too, but nooooo, Daddy wouldn't let her. 

It wasn't fair. 

She felt like she had been in there forever, but eventually, the door to the study room opened. Tenshi looked up from the art project she had started - finger-painting of a castle with a fire-breathing dragon fighting a intergalactic space pirate - expecting to see Gohan. 

Her face lit up as she saw that Mommy had finally come home from work. 

"Mommy!" 

Piccolo entered the room, closing the door behind him. He grabbed some paper towels on the way towards her, then knelt down and helped her clean her fingers of paint. 

"Gohan says you went into the woods alone today," Piccolo said. 

Tenshi pouted again. "I was with Uncle Goten." 

"Who is younger than you." 

"Only by some months." 

Piccolo gave her a look, and she had the decency to look sheepish. 

"And Goku says you were almost eaten by a tiger." 

"That . . . might've maybe happened." 

"And that Goten almost ate poisonous mushrooms. That would've made him sick, at the very least." 

"Y-yeah, that happened...." 

" _And_ that you've been sassing your father since Goku brought you two back home." 

Tenshi (wisely) said absolutely nothing in response to that. Piccolo sighed. 

"I know it's hard to do as Gohan asks when you don't ever get to do what you really want to do. But being reckless with your life and safety isn't the solution to that." 

Tenshi's mouth wavered between discomfort and an outright frown. 

"We wouldn't have gone by ourselves if he had just gotten his nose outta that stupid book....." 

"Was he studying?" 

"Yeah...." 

"You know how important that is to him." 

"Yeah. That's all he cares about." 

Piccolo reached out gently and cupped Tenshi's chin, making her look at him. 

"That's not true. He loves you and Goten more than anything in the whole world. And studying is going to help him get a good job that will help pay for your needs." 

They both knew he was talking about the oxygen tanks and the cart when it got a busted wheel and the tubing and masks and the special mineral water that had all of Tenshi's nutritional needs in it because she couldn't digest food. She was very expensive for someone who didn't need to eat or go clothes shopping. 

Tenshi moved her head away from Piccolo's hand, but Piccolo knew that his words were reaching her. 

There was a silence hanging over them for a few moments. Then Piccolo spoke again. 

"If you can go a couple weeks without upsetting your father, I'll start teaching you martial arts." 

Tenshi whipped her head back towards Piccolo, eyes wide. 

"Really!?" she asked, barely daring to believe it. 

Piccolo nodded. 

"Since neither of us actually sleep, we can train by moonlight when your father is asleep. It has to stay a secret for now, though." 

Tenshi nodded rapidly, but even as she did so, a thought occurred to her. 

"But what about the air tank? It's not exactly convenient for training." 

Piccolo nodded in agreement. "That's where contacting Bulma comes in. We'll see if she can create a more portable tank for you. That way, it can't get stuck in crevices." 

Tenshi's eyes widened even further, and her face brought out into a giant grin. 

"Thank you, Mommy!" 

Tenshi hugged Piccolo tightly, and Piccolo hugged her back. Tenshi honestly hadn't felt this happy in - in - she might not have ever felt this happy! 

She was going to get to train! And be an adventurer! And be like Grandpa! This was going to be so cool!


	12. Tenshi Was Sure To Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new air tank, discovering limitations, cartoons, and school.

Piccolo's new job as a bodyguard for a club in the city had been a big help with paying for things, and both Chichi and Gohan had been immensely thankful for it. Chichi, unable to help herself after seeing Piccolo's first paycheck, flung herself into his arms and kissed his cheek. Piccolo's heart fluttered in a strange way, and judging by the look on her face, Chichi either felt the same flutter or was simply surprised by her action entirely. Both had blushed vibrantly. 

"I - I need to finish setting the table. Why don't you show it to Gohan, then put it in my office room? I'll take it to the bank next time I'm in town." Chichi went straight into the kitchen before Piccolo could respond, and he was very . . . confused as to how he felt about that action entirely. 

Things were weird. The longer he stayed, the longer he spent time around Chichi, and the more he felt . . . weird in his own skin around her.

Piccolo went into the other room and found Gohan pouring over a book. Gohan looked up at him, and Piccolo showed him the pay stub. 

The reaction was identical; Gohan flung himself into Piccolo's arms and kissed him. Somehow it was more awkward with Gohan. Having never actually had a romantic or sexual relationship despite having a child together, they really had no idea what their relationship actually was now, or what it should be. Gohan was definitely his friend, though sometimes he wondered if he still thought of Gohan as his first child or not. Gohan, on the other hand, still had a burning romantic attraction to Piccolo, and it poked through in moments like this. They were rare, but.... In the end, Gohan mumbled a congratulations on the money and went back to studying, face red and Piccolo wishing he knew how to make the shame in his eyes go away. But he didn't know how to do that without . . . lying about how he felt towards the boy. 

He knew he didn't have the same romantic feelings towards him. At least, he was pretty sure he didn't. He didn't get the same . . . weird feeling that he got when he was around Chichi. Though he definitely saw the resemblance between the two. Gohan was very much his mother's son. There was a lot of her in his eyes and face, and his skin tone was the same as Chichi's. 

But did he have romantic feelings for Chichi? Or did he find her attractive? Were they two separate things? And how would he know for sure if his feelings for Gohan were entirely platonic like he thought they were?

Why did this have to happen to him? Honestly. And yet somehow Piccolo was 90% sure Goku wouldn't even care either way. 'You wanna bang my wife, Piccolo? Sure, why not, I'm not doing it! My son, too? Sure, sure, have fun!' 

He managed to laugh to himself at that little bit of imagination. How ridiculous.

Like any job, though, Piccolo got days off, and Gohan's first day of high school happened to coincide with it. Thanks to Piccolo and Chichi both working and Gohan getting scholarships due to how well he tested on the entrance exams, they were able to afford to send Gohan to one of the more elite high schools in the city, Orange Star High. Gohan got up pretty early that morning to get ready and to help make sure Goten and Tenshi got their nutrients and were also dressed and ready for the day, just like he was. 

"And no going into the forest by yourselves, and no causing too much trouble for Mom and Dad and behave for Piccolo and - " 

"Yes, Gohan!" Goten chimed in. 

"We know, Daddy, we know!" Tenshi whined, leaning on her air tank in an exaggerated, sassy way. 

"You have fun at school, and be careful about getting into trouble and don't get distracted by girls - or boys! - and make sure you have all your things before you leave - " Chichi kept going on and on why Gohan went on and on at Tenshi and Goten, and Piccolo and Goku just watched them go back and forth. Goku brought a hand up to scratch his head, and for at least a few moments he seemed to temporarily zone out of paying attention and watched the dandruff scatter onto his shoulder. Piccolo noticed and watched him do that for a couple moments, raising an eyebrow ridge at him, but Goku didn't pick up on Piccolo noticing, so Piccolo just went back to watching Gohan and Chichi. 

Eventually, Gohan was finished going over the house rules for the kids and addressed the fact that Chichi was giving him a list of rules as well and assuring her that he'd look after himself and do well and not get distracted. Gohan and Chichi hugged, and he gave Goten and Tenshi hugs as well, before going over to Goku and Piccolo. 

Goku stopped scratching his head and threading his fingers through his hair in time to not be distracted as Gohan came towards them. Gohan hugged Goku first, and Goku took a moment, but he put his arm around Gohan and squeezed him tight. As Gohan pulled away, Goku patted Gohan's shoulder and smiled at him. 

"You're gonna do great, Gohan. Be sure to make some friends while you're there, okay?" 

Gohan nodded, then turned to Piccolo. 

It was an awkward moment, but Piccolo reached out to give Gohan a one-armed hug too, and that encouraged Gohan to hug back. 

While it wasn't strange for Piccolo and Gohan to show each other affection, Tenshi was at the age where you start to pick up when things are feeling a little weird or awkward between people. Between that and the fact that she and Goten watched enough TV and read enough books to know that Gohan and Piccolo's relationship was unconventional, Tenshi was beginning to have some questions about her Mommy and Daddy. 

But it wasn't enough to distract her from the excitement she felt about her daddy going to high school. Daddy going to high school meant two things: 1) more time dedicated to not getting fussed over and not hearing "don't do that, you'll hurt yourself!" as much and 2) today Mommy said they could go see Bulma at Capsule Corp to see about getting a new air tank! And she and Uncle Goten always got to play video games with Trunks when they visited, so double the good stuff! 

Gohan took off, and Chichi went to her office for making more phone calls, and Piccolo took care of the dishes. Goku entertained the children for a while until Piccolo was finished with that. 

"So who's ready to visit Bulma and Trunks?" Piccolo asked after the chores were done. 

"Me! Me! Me!" Goten and Tenshi shouted in unison, hopping up and down. The tube connecting the mask to the tank tugged when Tenshi jumped too high, and her mask ended up popping right off her face, startling Goten and Goku. Goku quickly grabbed the mask and put it back onto her face. Tenshi scrunched up her nose in annoyance at the fact that it had happened at all. 

"All right, I'll tell Chichi we're going, and then we'll be on our way, okay?" Piccolo asked, knowing Tenshi was just fine. 

The children nodded, and Goku stood up from his position on the floor. 

"Do I get to come?" Goku asked, smiling and his eyes getting that glint they got when he thought about getting to spar with Vegeta. 

"Sure, why not?" Goku could teleport after all, so the children's fun wouldn't have to be rushed and they'd still get home before Gohan got back. 

"Yes!" Goku somehow looked more excited than the children. 

Piccolo went to Chichi's office door and knocked gently. She held up a finger to ask him to wait, and he did so. When she hung up, she turned around in her chair. 

"Did you need anything?" she asked. 

"Just wanted to let you know Goku and I were taking the kids to Bulma's. I wanted to see if Bulma could upgrade Tenshi's oxygen tank, and the kids are excited about seeing Trunks." 

"All right. Just make sure they don't get into any trouble or that Tenshi gets too worn out." 

"I know," Piccolo said; he always got a little miffed whenever anyone reminded _him_ of all people to watch whether Tenshi got worn out or not. He knew perfectly well what his daughter's limitations were, thank you very much. Though he supposed he'd get an even better idea once they started training. New air tank came before training. Her oxygen was far more important. 

"Have a good time," Chichi said as she dialed another number. 

Piccolo then rejoined the kids and Goku, letting them know they could go on ahead. Everyone gripped onto Goku, then they teleported to Capsule Corp. 

Before Tenshi could go play with Goten and Trunks, Bulma needed Tenshi's measurements so she knew what dimensions to use when building the new tank. After that, Tenshi was allowed to rush into the living room and play video games with Trunks and Goten. Piccolo stayed with Bulma and talked about potential designs, meanwhile Goku was very much preoccupied in the GR with Vegeta. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs watched the children as they did this. 

Eventually, Bulma came to a nifty design that would allow Tenshi to carry the air tank on her back. She then headed into her lab to start building it, then Piccolo went into the living room to check up on the children. Tenshi would need more of her mineral water, and sometimes she got so wrapped up in playing that she forgot about it entirely. 

They had apparently moved on from video games and were watching an animated cartoon with talking horses. Piccolo raised an eyebrow ridge at it, wondering which of the children had insisted on watching it. The music wasn't bad, at least, so Piccolo's ears didn't feel like they were bleeding. Always a plus. 

_My Little Pony~ I used to wonder what friendship could be~ Until you all shared its magic with me~_

Oddly enough, some of the lyrics sort of matched Piccolo's lived experience. Weird. 

"I can't believe we're watching a girls' show," Trunks commented, arms crossed. 

"I _am_ a girl!" Tenshi said. 

"Technically," Trunks said, and Piccolo immediately wanted to thump the boy on the head, but Tenshi punched him rather hard in the shoulder before he could get there. "Ow!"

"I like it, too!" Goten chimed in, smiling. "Applejack's my favorite!" 

"Rainbow Dash!" Tenshi pumped her fists into the air, a big grin on her face. 

Piccolo wondered if they had watched the show before. This was his first time being aware of it, at any rate. 

"Rarity is kinda cool," Trunks admitted under his breath, but obviously Tenshi heard it, as did Piccolo. Tenshi gave Trunks a rather evil grin, and Trunks seemed to realize this meant she'd be using that information for blackmail purposes. It made Piccolo smirk. 

He walked over to the couch and leaned against the back of it. "What're you watching?" 

"My Little Pony!" Tenshi and Goten announced (again in unison). You'd think they were twins instead of uncle and niece if it weren't for the green skin. 

"Friendship Is Magic. It's the fourth series of the My Little Pony franchise," Dr. Briefs added. It seemed Dr. Briefs at least enjoyed watching the show with the children and knew a few background facts. That'd be useful later, in case he had to ask someone about it. 

Piccolo ended up watching a few episodes with them (nothing objectionable and it was actually pretty entertaining; Pinkie Pie scared him a little, but Twilight Sparkle reminded him of Gohan). Then he went to check on how much progress Bulma was making. Ever the genuis, she was actually almost finished with it when he went to check up on her. He watched her as she finished up, then they both rejoined the children and Bulma's parents in the living room. 

"Trunks, is that Netflix?" 

"Yeah." 

"Can you pause it for a sec?" 

Trunks grabbed the remote and paused it, then they all turned around to look at Bulma. Bulma smiled at them and held up what looked like a backpack. 

"Check out your new and improved air tank, Tenshi!" 

Tenshi's eyes widened, and she turned around and climbed onto the back of the couch to get a better look at it. 

"Really? That's an air tank?" 

Bulma nodded. "Mm-hm! Try it on, I'll help you to get it set up. Let me know if anything's too tight, especially around the shoulders." 

Bulma, Tenshi, and Piccolo worked on getting the backpack air tank onto her, then switched tubes and fitted the nasal cannula into her nose. She moved around a bit, then grinned brightly at them. 

"This is great, Bulma! Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! This is so cool!" 

Goten and Trunks smiled as they watched her jump around. 

They spent a while longer at the Briefs, at least long enough for Goku and Vegeta to finish sparring and then get something to eat. As the Saiyans ate, Piccolo made sure Tenshi drank her mineral water and took the time to rehydrate himself. 

Now that they had a new air tank that was easily refillable, Piccolo and Tenshi could start their training schedule. On days like today where Piccolo had a day off, they could train while Gohan's at school. But when Piccolo had to work, the training schedule needed to be varied. 

But as they trained, Piccolo discovered a rather unfortunate fact. While he himself could heal at a faster rate than humans and even the Saiyans due to Namekian regenerative abilities, Tenshi seemed to lack those abilities entirely. Her bruises lasted a long, long while, and her cuts and wounds didn't want to stop bleeding and really didn't want to heal. It made him very cautious about hand-to-hand contact, and the worries he had had about her before increased. While he did want her to be happy - and being a fighter seemed to make her happy - he wanted her to be as safe as possible. And this problem with her healing ability was very worrisome. 

He would need to talk to Dende about it.


	13. They Followed Gohan To School One Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenshi and Goten get into more trouble. Gohan inadvertently teaches Goten to be afraid of him.

Gohan's first day of school had gone pretty well, aside from the few instances where he had accidentally performed _too_ well in the physical strength department. But he was integrating with the rest of the students fairly well, though he could tell that his constant "sorry, can't!" was making it difficult to make friends like Goku had encouraged him to. 

"Hey Gohan, wanna join the math club?" 

"Sorry, can't, I've gotta get back home." 

"Hey, wanna check out the boxing club with me?" 

"Sorry, can't, gotta get home." 

"Hey cutie, wanna hang out after school?" 

"Sorry, I can't." 

With no "maybe later" or "some other time", he realized this made it look like he didn't want to make friends or was being standoffish on purpose. Which . . . _maybe_ he was being a little bit so on purpose. He didn't really want to spend less time with Tenshi and Piccolo and Goten than he had to. Though the high school experience was certainly interesting, and it was a really new experience to be around people his own age. 

He didn't really want to admit it, but he also didn't like leaving Goku in charge of looking after the kids for extended periods of time. With Chichi having her new job, that meant she was mostly in the office space and that Goku was more or less in charge of Goten and Tenshi now that Piccolo had work and Gohan was attending school. It didn't sit right in his stomach, and the twisting, hard feeling in his gut refused to go away until he could get home and see that his precious little girl and his little brother were just fine. So far, it hadn't been a real issue and mostly anxiety on Gohan's end, but . . . . 

He had been going to Orange Star High for a week and a half when he forgot his lunch on the kitchen table, fearful of running late after waking up later than usual and still needing to make sure Tenshi's oxygen tank was filled up and that she had all the mineral water she needed and if he would need to pick some up after school or not. (She was good for the rest of the week, but he had been given some pocket money from Chichi, so he figured he'd go ahead and buy some for her. Maybe even treat Tenshi to the flavored waters that were a bit more expensive, but Tenshi love love _loved_ the strawberry-flavored mineral water.) 

Gohan hadn't remembered the lunch until much later in the day, but Goten and Tenshi noticed it was still on the table after they finished playing in the living room while Goku trained outside and Chichi worked in her office space. 

"Uh-oh," Goten said, climbing into one of the chairs. "Gohan's gonna be real hungry when he gets back." 

Tenshi frowned a little. "What's that like?" 

"What's what like?" 

"Being hungry." 

"Oh. Well, your stomach goes all rumbly and you get really weak and it's hard to concentrate." 

"But it's different from thirsty?" 

"Yeah, your stomach hurts 'cause it's empty instead of your throat being dry." 

"Oh...." Tenshi imagined what it would be like to having a hurting stomach, and her frown deepened. "Will Daddy last that long?" 

"Um.... I dunno. I wouldn't." 

"Hm.... Then let's take it to him!" Tenshi announced. "Let's get Grandpa to take us!" 

"Okay!" Goten grinned, then hopped down from the chair. 

They went outside to find Goku, but he wasn't in the front yard. 

"Dad? Daaaaaaad!" 

"Graaaaandpaaaaaaa!" 

They looked for him and looked and called for him, but they couldn't find him. Pouting, they looked at each other. 

"Now how are we gonna get it to Gohan?" Goten asked. 

Tenshi's pout was rather intense as she gave the question some thought. Then she looked up, smirking. 

"We'll call Kinto'Un!" 

Goten's eyes widened. "You mean . . . we go by ourselves?" 

"Sure! Why not? Hey, we could even go by Trunks's after dropping the lunch off!" 

"I dunno...." 

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Tenshi saw that Goten wasn't quite convinced yet. "Trunks has My Little Pony on that Netflix thing~!" 

"Mmmmm, okay!" 

So they gathered Gohan's lunch, didn't think to take the capsules that had the oxygen refills in them, left a note for Goku and Chichi, then went back outside. 

"Kin-to-'Un!" Goten called, and the yellow magic cloud arrived in no time at all. 

The two children climbed onto the cloud, and it took them into the city. 

The trip by Kinto'Un was longer than it would've been had either of them been able to fly (or if they had been Goku or Gohan or Piccolo or Vegeta), so by the time that Gohan had realized that he had forgotten his lunch, the two children had just entered the city and hopped off the cloud. Gohan resigned himself to being hungry until he got home while Goten and Tenshi then tried to find someone who could point them in the direction of Orange Star High School. 

A police officer came up to them after their fourth attempt at trying to get an answer. 

"Where are your parents, little ones?" he asked. 

"My dad's at Orange Star High! Do you know where that is?" Tenshi answered. The cop was getting that look on his face that always came with strangers noticing Tenshi's oxygen tubing. It meant they were pitying her, but it always meant she could get something from them, usually for free. 

And this was no exception, as Tenshi and Goten got to take a ride in the cop car to Orange Star High. Tenshi and Goten chatted to the police officer about a few things as they drove. When they got there, the two children hopped out of the car. 

"Thanks, sir!" Tenshi said, hurrying to the doors and not looking back. Goten gave a little bow, then ran after her. 

"Hold on!" the police officer called after them, putting the car in park and then followed them. 

Goten and Tenshi then worked on trying to figure out where Gohan was, checking the windows in the doors. They ended up attracting a bit of attention from those who had seen momentarily children's faces in the window, and some people managed to open the doors and pop their heads out into the hall to see where they were going. The police officer followed them all the way, stopping only when a teacher asked what was going on. 

Eventually, Tenshi successfully found the right classroom. Grinning, she jumped down, then waved Goten over to the door she was at. 

"I found him!"

Goten hopped over to her, and she reached up for the door knob and turned it, pushing the door open. 

Needless to say, the classroom was very surprised to see two children just walk into the room. They were even more surprised to see a _green_ child with a nasal cannula attached to her face. 

Gohan looked up when the door swung open, and his eyes widened and mouth fell open at seeing them. 

"Tenshi!? Goten!? What're you doing here!?" 

Eyes turned to Gohan as he spoke and stood up, moving down the steps from his desk to the front of the room where the teacher and two children were. The teacher stared in surprise, wondering what was going on. 

"You forgot your lunch!" Tenshi said while Goten held up the lunch box. 

"Uh, thanks," Gohan remarked. He was about to say something else when the police officer arrived, and he paused for a moment. ". . . Tenshi, Goten. Where's Dad and why is there a cop with you?" 

"Uhhhhh...." Goten said, looking at Tenshi. 

"Eh heh, you're right here, Daddy~" Tenshi said. A vein twitched in Gohan's forehead, and Tenshi laughed nervously. 

"You _know_ what I _mean_ , Tenshi. Where is your grandfather?" 

"Well, uh, you see...." 

Gohan's hand was being put on his hip, and Goten hunched his shoulders a bit as he watched Gohan's eyebrows furrow. All three of them already knew the answer, but Goten and Tenshi knew they would have to verbalize it. 

"We, uh, we wanted to bring it to you, but we couldn't _find_ Dad, so . . . ." Goten said. 

"So we left a note and came here by ourselves," Tenshi finished, puffing her chest out and standing as tall as she could, showing that she was rather proud of having come by herself. 

The vein in Gohan's forehead twitched more insistently. Goten shrunk in size practically and inched closer to Tenshi, prepared to hide behind her. It wasn't really often that Gohan got angry, but it wasn't ever pretty when he was. 

Gohan took a very, _very_ deep breath. Complete with pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut and his eyebrows knitting together. When he was ready to speak, he took his hand away from his face, but he didn't unfurrow his brow or open his eyes. 

"When I next see my father, I am ripping his spine out and using it for wall decoration." 

Goten's eyes widened, and Tenshi just stared at Gohan for a moment before laughing. 

"Very funny, Daddy." She clearly didn't take the statement seriously, but Goten had started imagining what that would look and sound like, and now he had a very hard time believing that Gohan _wouldn't_ do that. 

Gohan opened his eyes and didn't make any other comment on it. "Do you two at least have the refills for the tank?" 

Goten and Tenshi stared at Gohan for a moment, then looked at each other. 

"You have those, right?" Goten asked. 

"Eh heh, I kinda forgot...." 

". . . _How_ do you forget if you need it to live?" 

Tenshi laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her bald little head. 

Gohan groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. He then turned around and asked his professor if he could be allowed to take the children back home. There was a little bit of a conversation. Ultimately, the teacher agreed to sign a typed letter so that they had his absence in his later classes documented with the reason why. Gohan thanked him, then picked Tenshi up and grabbed Goten by the back of the shirt. 

"C'mon you troublesome little monkeys," Gohan muttered, sounding just as stressed out as he felt. 

Gohan got them back home before Tenshi's tank really needed a refill, then Gohan called up the stairs. "MOM!" Chichi came down the stairs, obviously not having seen the note that Goten and Tenshi had left yet and very confused as to why Gohan was back already. 

Goten and Tenshi got grounded for a month. Tenshi was the only one who actually made a big fuss over it. Goten was still having trouble getting the image of Gohan ripping out Goku's spine out of his head. 

Goku, it turned out, had just been far too focused on his training and hadn't returned by the time Gohan did, so Goku came back home to a full house and a very angry wife and son. 

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" 

"LEAVING THEM ALL ALONE, WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" 

The main problem with _yelling_ at Goku was that he really couldn't understand what it was they were saying. To him, yelling sounded a lot like what the adults in Charlie Brown sounded like. "Wah wah woh wah wah," etc., etc. But Chichi and Gohan really didn't know that, so the next hour was mostly yelling at Goku and releasing pent-up anger at him. 

While they yelled at Goku, Goten hid under his bed covers, trembling and covering his ears, worried. Tenshi, however, stuffed earplugs into her ears and decided to draw some in her sketch pad while the grown-ups pitched a fit. 

When Gohan went back to school the next day, he was a little surprised by the way the other students were acting around him. 

"Hey, sorry about asking if you could hang out after school so much. Didn't mean to distract you or anything." 

"It's fine...." 

The whole class did find out that he was a dad after all, so he supposed it made sense. But now girls who had been really forward towards him had backed on significantly, and he kept catching people looking at him strangely. 

Oh well....


	14. Which Was Against the Rule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner get invited to the Son residence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've edited some of the chapter titles so that the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" rhyme is more accurate. It actually fits the chapters better this way, I think.

Gohan was packing up his books and stuffing his now empty lunch box into his bag when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Erasa standing there, looking a little nervous but still all smiles and being as welcoming a presence as ever. She had been one of the few to still look at him the same way since Tenshi and Goten had shown up. 

"Say, Gohan, I was wondering.... Do you want any study buddies for the upcoming test in biology? Videl, Sharpner, and I usually get together some place to study. We can do it at your place, if that's easiest." 

Gohan smiled at her. "Actually, that sounds great. When did you want to get together?" 

"Whatever works best with your schedule. We were going to start tonight, but if that's not convenient - " 

"Nah, tonight works. Is it all right if I pick up a few things while I'm still here in the city? I've gotta get Tenshi's mineral water." 

"Sure, sure! No problem. Do you want to take your hovercraft or - ?" 

"Eh heh heh, um, if taking someone else's isn't a problem - " 

"It's not! We can take Videl's, hers is nicer than mine or Sharpner's." 

"Okay. Thanks!" 

Gohan finished packing up, and he and Erasa left the classroom and met up with Videl and Sharpner near the exit. 

"Gohan's joining! And we get to see his place! But after we stop by for some stuff." 

"That's fine," Videl said, seemingly already expecting that they'd be taking her car and clicking the capsule open. 

The visit to the store was fairly quick; My Little Pony was _so_ popular that the grocery store even had the surprise that Gohan had wanted to get Tenshi. Chichi and Gohan had agreed that Chichi would be the one to spoil Goten, and Gohan already knew that Chichi had a surprise for Goten for just the right moment. And luckily for Gohan, he knew Goten wasn't the envious type. He was always happy for others, so he knew giving Tenshi a gift when he didn't have one for Goten wasn't an issue. 

Then back in the car they went, and Videl drove them out of the city and into the mountains where Gohan lived. 

"Man, you make this commute every day?" Sharpner said, looking over at Gohan in the backseat. (Erasa had shotgun alongside Videl.) 

"Eh heh, yeah. I manage pretty okay. There's this . . . super eco-friendly transportation I use, but it only really carries one person," Gohan said. 

"No wonder you didn't want to use yours, then," Erasa said, looking into the back at them. 

There was a bit of silence for a moment, then Videl spoke up. 

"So Gohan. . . . The two kids. Are they both yours?" 

Gohan's eyes widened, and Erasa shot a look at Videl. 

"Videl! That's not - !" 

"I'm just wondering! I'm not judging or anything - !" 

"It - it's fine," Gohan said, blushing a little bit. "But no, Goten is my little brother. He and Tenshi are the same age, but about nine months apart." 

There was a very awkward silence after that as they all processed what Gohan said. Gohan's blush darkened. 

"N-not that they have the same mother. It just happened out that way - Goten and I have the same parents and Tenshi has me and her mom, that's - " 

"It's okay, we get it," Sharpner said, attempting to soothe Gohan, but he said it too roughly and Gohan's blush darkened and everyone was still very uncomfortable. 

"P-Piccolo is Tenshi's mom, and - and that's where Tenshi gets the green and pointy ears and fangs and antennae...." Gohan muttered. 

"So Piccolo's an alien?" Videl asked. 

Gohan nodded, then realized she had to watch where she was going. "Yeah, the species is called Namekian. Namekians are from the planet Namek, and they actually look physiologically like human men but green and the rest of that, but they're actually have both male and female reproductive organs but . . . um . . . . Piccolo uses male pronouns, is what I'm . . . trying to say.... even though he's the mom...." 

"Uh, okay," Erasa said, trying to get that straight in her head. Maybe it'd be easier to once she saw the man.... 

"And you two are the same age?" Videl asked. 

Gohan's blush darkened. 

"Videl...." Sharpner said warningly. 

"Uh . . . n-no, Piccolo is a few years older than me.... He's 21 right now...." 

Gohan could actually see Videl frowning in the rearview mirror, and he wondered what she was thinking exactly. 

"And the kids are, what, four?" 

"T-Tenshi and Goten are both six years old...." 

Videl's eyes widened at the answer, and she slammed on the brake, hands gripping the wheel very tightly. Sharpner, Erasa, and Gohan got pulled against their seat belts pretty hard, though it didn't bother Gohan really. He was more concerned about what she was thinking. 

Now that they were at a complete stop, Videl turned around in the seat to look at him. 

"You were _eleven_ when you had your kid?!" 

Gohan flinched, and he opened his mouth to speak up, but she wasn't done. 

"And _he_ was _fifteen_?! And you keep talking like he's living with you!" 

"He - he is living with me and my parents and the kids...." 

"Your parents let him stick around!?" 

"Videl, it's not how you're thinking. Piccolo didn't do anything wrong. It was kinda my fault anyway...." 

He had to go be a stupid kid who wanted an indirect kiss via a shared water bottle.... 

But that made Videl blow up more. She lifted her hand, index finger pointed right at him. 

" _Nothing_ you did means that anybody had a right to take advantage of you, okay?" 

She said it with so much conviction that it felt wrong to try to contradict her. And for the context that she believed them to be talking about, she was entirely right. But.... 

"Remember how he's an alien? His reproductive organs work differently. Piccolo and I didn't have sex, and we still don't, we're just . . . raising a kid together.... When I say it was my fault, I just mean that I lent him a water bottle I had already drank from, and my DNA got mixed up in his reproductive stuff in his chest and then we had an egg that hatched. He didn't know that would happen and - and I didn't either, it was a surprise to everybody but, um...." 

Gohan blushed really heavily, and he wasn't sure he wanted to divulge any information about his massive crush on Piccolo that really just seemed to get stronger over the years. 

She didn't quite seem to believe him, but Videl turned back around and started getting the car to move again. 

". . . Okay." 

Erasa and Sharpner sighed heavily, then Erasa turned around in her seat again. 

"I'm glad nothing bad had happened to you, but sorry about that. It wasn't any of our business. Videl just really cares about other people's safety is all." Erasa said. 

"It's okay," Gohan said. 

"Videl is kinda a superhero, what with taking after her dad and going off into the city to kick bad guy butt alongside the police," Sharpner tacked on. 

Gohan's eyebrows flew up. "Really?" He looked back at her via the rearview mirror. She didn't show any indication of actually listening to them right now. ". . . When you say taking after her dad...." 

"Yeah, Videl's dad is Hercule Satan - the one who took down Cell!" 

It took Gohan a moment to process what she had said. "Huh?" 

"You remember, don't you? When Cell was terrorizing the world and then Mr. Satan and a group of other fighters gathered at the Cell Games?" Sharpner said. 

"Mr. Satan does a TV re-telling of the story every other week on the children's station. About how he stood in when that kid got sent in to fight Cell all by himself and saved not just him but the whole world by defeating Cell!" 

Gohan just stared at them. So _that's_ what the rest of the world thought had happened.... He tried to remember who Mr. Satan was, and he supposed it must've been the guy with the giant afro who had showed up.... 

"Oh. Wow." Gohan said, attempting to sound impressed. He could see Videl raising an eyebrow in the rearview mirror. Uh oh.... 

They finally arrived at Gohan's house, and he couldn't have been more grateful for it. They climbed out of the car, and Videl punched the button to make it go back into a capsule. Gohan carried the grocery bags into the house, knocking first. 

"Mom! Dad! Piccolo! Tenshi! Goten! I'm back! With friends from school!"

He took the bags and placed them on the kitchen table. There was a bit of running around, then Goten and Tenshi bounded into the room. 

Gohan's eyes widened as he saw Tenshi in a purple gi. 

"Daddy!" 

"Gohan!" 

"Just _what_ do you think you're wearing, young lady!?" 

Goten flinched, and Tenshi for a moment looked confused, then she looked down at her clothes. She looked back up at Gohan and laughed nervously. 

"Uh, it's . . . a martial art uniform?" There was no denying it, she knew it was Piccolo's and Gohan's gi too. 

"And just _who_ made that for you?" 

"Mmmommy did...." 

A vein twitched in Gohan's forehead. "And where is your mother right now?" 

"Upstairs with Grandma...." 

"Could you go get him, then, please?" he said through gritted teeth, and Tenshi quickly ran up the stairs. 

Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner stared, rather surprised by the interaction, but they stayed entirely quiet and didn't dare say anything about it. Goten fidgeted in one spot for a moment. Gohan took a deep breath. 

"Goten, these are Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner. They're over for studying," Gohan said, reaching out to ruffle Goten's hair and inch him closer to say hi to their guests. 

Goten didn't exactly flinch, but he seemed surprised to feel Gohan's hand on his head. Then he jumped to attention and bowed in greeting towards Gohan's friends. 

"It's good to meet you!" Goten said. 

Tenshi arrived with Piccolo close behind, and Piccolo seemed to have clothes-beamed Tenshi into something not martial arts related while they had been up there. He had the decency to have a light blush on his face. 

Gohan had his arms crossed. 

"Tenshi, say hello to my friends from school while your mother and I have a talk," Gohan said, walking up to Piccolo and grabbing the front of his gi as he dragged him into an adjacent room. 

Tenshi watched them go, then looked at Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner and grinned. 

"Hi!" 

In the other room, Gohan let go of Piccolo's gi and shoved him a little as he did so. 

"Why was she wearing a gi?" Gohan demanded. 

Piccolo was quiet for a moment, then he took a deep breath. 

"I wanted to teach her how to meditate. Gi are comfortable and I hadn't wanted her distracted from how fabric felt while learning how. Meditating is good for her breathing." 

Gohan steadily developed a blush as Piccolo gave him that answer. He bowed his head and looked rather ashamed of his own behavior. Piccolo lifted his hand and put it on Gohan's shoulder. 

"I should have considered that you'd be upset to see her in it when you're so against her learning how to fight. It slipped my mind entirely. That's my fault, and I'm sorry that I worried you." 

There was some guilt over the fact that he actually was training Tenshi and that he was kind of lying to Gohan right now. He did in fact teach her how to meditate, but it had been a part of her training. And he did know how upset Gohan would be because he did know that Gohan just wanted her to be safe. 

Gohan would definitely feel betrayed when he found out, and Piccolo was preparing himself for that, but he certainly didn't want it to happen by Gohan finding Tenshi wearing a gi around the house. 

"I'm . . . I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions.... And that I got so mad so fast...." Gohan said in response. He was always doing that.... 

"I forgive you," Piccolo said. He was used to it, anyway, and he hadn't . . . been wrong, really. 

"And I forgive you, too," Gohan replied, still not looking up at Piccolo. There was an awkward silence between them, then, "Um. I have some friends from school over, and I brought a surprise gift for Tenshi. Do you want to meet them and see what it is?" 

"Sure," Piccolo said, and they went back into the other room. 

Tenshi, with her good ears, was grinning already. 

"I have a present!?" 

Gohan smiled at her. "Yep! Your mineral water and surprise are in the grocery bags." 

Tenshi climbed up onto the kitchen table and dug the strawberry-flavored mineral water out of its bag, then dove her hands into the other bag and pulled out a Rainbow Dash stuffed animal. Her eyes lit up so brightly and she hugged it tightly. 

"Rainbow Dash! Thank you, Daddy!" 

She hopped down from the table and hurried over to Gohan, then hugged him tightly. 

Gohan was a little surprised by her speed. Due to her lungs, she ordinarily couldn't move around all that quickly, even when she was pushing herself. The meditation must've been teaching her a lot about breathing control.... That had to be it, right? Or maybe she was getting stronger as she got older. One or the other, right? 

"Daddy, I like Videl, she fights in the Tenkaichi Budokai with her own daddy, and her daddy has a gym she said where she trains everyday and - !" 

"Oh, really? That's great, honey," Gohan said, though his expression was a bit exasperated. Videl picked up on it and was curious about it for a moment, then her eyes zeroed in on the oxygen tank and nasal cannula and immediately understood. "Say, why don't you show your new toy to Grandma?" 

"Okay! C'mon, Goten!" Tenshi said, and Goten hurried after her, giving a goodbye to Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner as he went. 

Gohan grumbled under his breath. "Always with the training and the fighting and the 'daddy why can't i go do activities that will over-exert my lungs and make me need to lay down for hours at a time and get myself killed'.... I really wish we weren't a martial arts family sometimes."

Gohan went about fixing tea for everyone, and Piccolo filled Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner in on the family history, specifically the fact that all three of the adults had participated in the Tenkaichi Budokai in the past. 

The kids returned with Chichi, and Chichi welcomed the three other teenagers to her home. 

"I'd introduce you to my husband, but that man ran off as soon as Piccolo came back from work. Who knows where he went." 

Gohan groaned heavily in response to that, but said nothing else otherwise. 

As they had tea and got to know each other better before diving into the studying, Tenshi had some interesting questions while they sat there. 

"Videl, do you have a kid?" 

"Ah, no...." Videl smiled nervously, and Gohan had a bad feeling he knew where this would be going. 

"What about you, Erasa?" 

"Oh, no, I don't, ha ha...." 

"Sh-?" 

"Nope," Sharpner went ahead and answered. 

"How come?" 

"Ahhhhh," all three said, trying to find a way to answer that without throwing Gohan under the bus. 

"Um, Tenshi...." Gohan started. "You see . . . your daddy and your mommy were younger than most parents when we had you. Most people my age don't have children yet." 

"Oh. Is that why Applebloom and Sweetie Bell are little sisters and not daughters on My Little Pony?" 

"Probably." 

"Okay. Daddy?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You and Mommy love each other, though, right?" 

Piccolo and Gohan both tensed up at the question, and Chichi paused in drinking her tea. 

"Uh, well," Gohan started, but Piccolo answered first. 

"Your father is very important to me. He was my first friend and has always been my best friend," Piccolo said. Gohan blushed heavily. 

"But do you _love_ each other, like Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask?" 

"I don't know who those people are," Piccolo said. 

Tenshi sighed, exasperated. "Or like Grandma and Grandpa!" 

Piccolo was suspiciously silent. Gohan's blush darkened. 

"Drink your mineral water," Piccolo ended up saying and then immediately left the room. 

"Hey!" Tenshi whined. 

Videl, Sharpner, Erasa, and Chichi all felt pretty awkward, sitting there silently. Gohan continued to be red in the face. Tenshi turned around in her chair and looked back at Gohan. 

"Do you, Daddy?" 

Gohan set his cup down, then took a deep breath. 

"It's complicated, sweetie, but yes, Daddy loves Mommy very much." 

"Okay!" 

Tenshi grinned, and that seemed to put whatever curiosity or concerns she had at ease. But Gohan sat there very uncomfortable in the knowledge that the same romantic love was unrequited. As much as he enjoyed being friends with Piccolo and only friends, he still very much yearned to be in _that_ kind of relationship with Piccolo, and it just never was going to happen. When not reminded about it, he was fine with it, but when he was forced to examine it, it was hard. 

He knew he was too young for Piccolo right now, anyway. A seventeen-year-old with a twenty-one-year-old was ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as an eleven-year-old with a fifteen-year-old, but he hadn't seen it that way back then.... 

Hell, Gohan would've been fine without sex, that wasn't what he wanted, he just . . . he wanted he and Piccolo to love each other in the same way. At this point, he didn't even care if it was changing how Piccolo felt about him or changing how he felt about Piccolo. He was tired of the ache in his chest that came with knowing they felt differently about each other. And he knew it put Piccolo on edge, and he didn't _want_ to make Piccolo uncomfortable. 

Studying distracted Gohan from it, but he knew he was the one who ruined everything. He hadn't been able to get over his fear way back when Vegeta and Nappa invaded, and it resulted in three dead. He just got in the way on Planet Namek, though they had gotten Piccolo and the others back. He got Piccolo pregnant all because he had to go and satisfy a stupid cultural "oooooh you kissed~" _thing_ that people did. 

Sometimes he wondered if Piccolo wished he didn't have to live with them and didn't have to work a job, and maybe it was the anxiety talking, but the thoughts kept the young man awake at night and made him paralyzed in his own bed. 

It's all his fault his daughter has parents who are too young, has parents who aren't fully capable of taking care of her by themselves, has parents who constantly have to assure people that she wasn't the product of child sexual abuse.... 

Everything that was going wrong was all his fault, and he didn't know what to do about it.

Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner actually chose to spend the night since the drive had been so long and school was the next day. In the morning, when Gohan was getting the children ready before he went off, he saw that Tenshi had started drawing a picture of Videl. She was pretty good at it for a six-year-old who had no formal lessons, and she had drawn herself beside her. Videl saw it before they left, and she smiled at it. 

"Awww, that's really cute, Tenshi," Videl said. 

"Thanks! It's you and me and you're teaching me moves!" 

Videl grinned at her and patted Tenshi on the head. 

"Maybe you can see my dad's gym sometime." 

Tenshi's reaction made Videl's entire day, and the day hadn't even started yet. 

Gohan smiled at the sight, then said goodbye to the family and went with his friends back to school. 

At least Tenshi had someone to look up to now. Another girl to look up to, who wasn't fictional.


	15. It Made the Children Laugh and Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Tenshi, Goten, and Trunks, and a little of Mr. Satan and Vegeta

Visiting Trunks was the most fun thing Goten and Tenshi could think of. Even more fun than going for adventures in the forest around their house! And it was a fun activity that Daddy didn't shout at Tenshi for. Goku and Chichi had brought them over today, Piccolo being at work and Gohan at school. Gohan was going to rejoin them at Capsule Corp, though, so they'd be seeing him sooner than if they were still at home, as Piccolo would after work. Then they were all going to have dinner together, and it was going to be a lot of fun! 

Right then, Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi were playing video games. Trunks obviously was a lot better at them, having had far more access to them than they did, but Piccolo had been educating Tenshi about strategy and things like that in training, so the longer she was having those lessons with her Mommy, the better she got at them. So - 

"Ah! Man! When'd you get _this_ good?" Trunks asked, a bit of a whine in his voice. 

Tenshi giggled. "Natural talent, maybe?" 

Goten pouted a little, lowering his controller a bit. 

"You've been improving a lot, lately." Goten commented. 

"What do you mean?" Tenshi said as she pressed a button to change her fighting character. She had been the big brawler enough for now. Time to break out the cute girl in the ninja costume! 

"I mean, you don't have as hard a time with the steps anymore. I remember you taking a real long time, especially with how much your tank weighs." 

"It wasn't _that_ long." 

"Yu-huh, it totally was, I'd always get to the top before you. Now I don't." 

"What's your point?" 

They started a new game, Trunks sticking with his previous character and Goten having chosen a new one. 

"You sure you want to go with that character, Goten? You've never played as him before." 

"My point is is that Piccolo made you a gi, didn't he? And Gohan got mad about it?" 

"So?" 

"Was it really just for meditation? Like Piccolo said?" 

Tenshi didn't say anything as she pressed the buttons and jiggled the joystick. Trunks raised an eyebrow, but he didn't turn his head to look at them. He focused on the TV screen instead. 

"Well? Was it?" Goten asked. 

Tenshi's video game character managed to get a pretty decent blow to Trunks's character. Trunks furrowed his eyebrows and tried to focus better. 

"Mind your own business," Tenshi ended up responding. 

Goten's character, despite not having been used by Goten before, started performing better. 

"It's not, is it? You're actually training with Piccolo, aren't you? Even though Gohan said no." 

"What are you, the good fairy on my shoulder? Back off and worry about your own training, Goten." 

"But Gohan's gonna be really mad and - " 

"So what? He's always mad." 

"No he's not, he's sometimes _actually_ mad, like when we showed up at the school and he yelled at Dad for a long, long time." 

"Grandpa can handle it, he's a Super Saiyan, remember?" 

"But only Gohan could beat Cell - " 

"And Daddy hasn't been training like before, Grandpa and Mommy have, it's not that big a deal - " 

"But - " 

Both Tenshi's and Goten's characters K.O'ed Trunks's character, then they immediately started to go head-to-head on each other. Trunks frowned and put his controller down, then crossed his arms and watched the two video game characters fight. His ears, however, were very much trained on his two friends. 

"Daddy's too strict anyway. I can handle myself, and I'm getting a lot stronger and my lungs don't bother me as much anymore and - " 

"But what if something bad happens and Gohan blames the training? Or Piccolo?" 

"Mommy can handle himself, and Daddy loves Mommy, he wouldn't do anything stupid - " 

"They do?" Trunks interjected. "I was told you were an unexpected accident." 

Goten K.O.'ed Tenshi's character, but that was because Tenshi used the remote to hit Trunks in the face. 

"Ow!" 

"You take that back!" 

"Hey! Cut it out!" Goten objected, but Tenshi and Trunks started to actually fight with their fists. 

The adults quickly entered the room, Chichi and Bulma quickly getting in to pull the two away from each other. 

"Take it back, take it back!" 

"Taking it back doesn't mean it's not true!" 

"Shut up!" 

"What is going on, you two?!" Bulma demanded. 

Trunks's nose was starting to bruise from when Tenshi hit him with the controller. 

"She's mad her parents weren't all kissy-kissy lovey-dovey when she was born." 

"THEY WERE TOO!" Tenshi shouted, then promptly starting hacking and coughing. Chichi knelt down and rubbed her shoulders (mostly because Tenshi's back was inaccessible due to the oxygen tank being strapped on). They waited to see if it would subside for the moment, then Chichi took out the mask that covered the nose and mouth and switched it out with the nasal cannula. 

Tenshi took a very deep breath and eventually stopped coughing long enough to just glare at Trunks. 

"Stop lying about my parents!" she demanded in a more evenly toned voice. 

Trunks grunted and crossed his arms, tossing his head to the side. The epitome of rebellion. Tenshi gritted her teeth, Namekian fangs visible even through the breathing mask. 

Bulma and Chichi frowned. 

"Trunks, where did you hear that?" Bulma asked. 

"Overhead you and Dad talking about it. They were watching My Little Pony and she was going on and on about how Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were like her mom and dad and I had gone into the kitchen for a snack and Dad mentioned it." 

Bulma's frown deepened, and she locked eyes with Chichi. 

"Then your dad's a liar!" 

"Why you - !" 

"Trunks, that's enough," Bulma said, gripping his shoulder tightly. Trunks grunted again. 

"Tenshi...." Chichi said. 

"He is! He has to be! Daddy said he loved Mommy!" 

"And that's true, sweetie. But Gohan and Piccolo . . . they really aren't like other mommies and daddies." 

"Well, yeah, Daddy said they were really young for parents...." 

Tenshi turned herself around to better look at Chichi. Chichi kept her hands on Tenshi's shoulders. 

"They are. But that's not really all...." 

". . . 'Cause Mommy's Namekian and Daddy is half-Saiyan, right?" 

"Uh...." 

"'Cause I really don't see anybody not human or animal on the TV. So that's it, right?" 

"That's . . . a part of it, yes, but . . . . There are a lot of parents who are romantically in love and have children, and there are parents who aren't romantically in love at all or were at one point and aren't anymore. . . . Sometimes children just happen." 

Tenshi was frowning, and her eyes looked like they were tearing up. 

"But . . . but Daddy said. . . ." 

"And he told you the truth, it's just . . . Gohan and Piccolo aren't a couple like Grandma and Grandpa are or Vegeta and Bulma are. They're friends. Like Grandpa and Uncle Krillin and Bulma and Yamcha." 

Tenshi seemed to be absorbing the information, but the more she understood, the more upset she became. 

"But - but that's not how it works! You fall in love and get married and have babies! That's how it works!" 

"My parents aren't married," Trunks said - an attempt to make her feel better and perhaps apologize for his earlier behavior. 

"They still love each other!" Tenshi insisted. 

"What are we shouting about?" floated in Vegeta's voice. Goku and Vegeta entered the room, sweaty from their sparring in the gravity chamber. 

"Tenshi's upset Gohan and Piccolo aren't in love like Mom and Dad or you and Bulma...." Goten said softly. 

Goku blinked repeatedly, and Vegeta grunted. 

"Why are you upset about that?" Vegeta asked. Tenshi was starting to get purple in the face as her eyes started to leak clear tears. 

"'Cause everyone else's parents are!" 

"Tch. Not on Planet Vegeta. Humans have strange values and broadcast it all over that picture box." 

"TV," Trunks said. 

"Whatever." 

"What was the norm on Vegeta?" Goku asked. 

"We breeded with whoever could match us in battle. You wanted to bang, you did so, and sometimes a child would result. If it survived the birthing process, it grew up to be a fine warrior like its parents. Often the mother would be their first victim, since they rarely survived child birth. Though there were those who had very close bonds. Demonstrations of such a bond were reserved for when you were at the end of your life and wanted to go out with dignity - with Saiyan pride." 

"Which means . . . ?" Goku prodded. 

"You and your companion would fight in hand-to-hand combat until one or both of you died. It was seen as superior to dying from old age. Dying outside of battle was a disgrace on Planet Vegeta." 

"Huh. That explains a lot about you." 

"Tch."

Tenshi, Trunks, and Goten looked at Vegeta with raised eyebrows. 

"So on Planet Vegeta, our parents would kill each other?" Goten asked to clarify. 

Vegeta sighed a little bit. "It's a little lost in translation, but if you assume the human lovers is equivalent to Saiyan bonding, then yes." 

"But they didn't get married or have babies," Trunks stated. 

"Correct." 

"See, Tenshi? Not everyone does." 

"But that's a _different planet_! A dead one!" 

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. Tenshi was too upset to notice that she had irritated the all-mighty Prince of all Saiyans. 

"But does it matter either way?" Goku asked. "Gohan and Piccolo do like each other. They're friends after all. And as far as importance to each other goes, you're the only person they care about more than each other, Tenshi. With all that, is loving each other in a kissing way necessary?" 

Everyone stared at Goku, everyone rather surprised such wise information came out of his mouth. 

But before anyone could really respond to that, Goku cracked a joke. Well, sort of. "Besides, they'd have to be careful with the kissing, or you'd get a little brother!" 

Chichi rolled her eyes, but Tenshi tilted her head to the side. 

"Why's that?" she asked.

A long pause from the adults. Then maniacal laughter from Vegeta. Bulma elbowed Vegeta in the side, but that didn't stop his laughter. 

"What? What'd I say?" 

"And history repeats itself!" 

"Shut up, Vegeta," Chichi spat, glaring at him. "She doesn't even hit puberty for another four years or so." 

Tenshi stared up at them for a long period of time, but she really didn't get an answer.

Instead of answering questions, Bulma suggested they just change the subject entirely and fixed the TV so that it played what was on cable instead of the video game that the kids were no longer playing. 

The immediate station it was on once it switched back, however, was a sports news station, and it was interviewing Hercule Satan. They didn't really stay on the channel, but the three children managed to hear the words "So Mr. Satan, tell us again how you defeated the powerhouse, Cell?" before Bulma changed the channel. 

"Hey - !" 

"Wait a minute - !" 

"But Daddy killed Cell!" 

The day just never ending with things the four adults just didn't want to explain. 

But it was easier to explain that it was a lot easier for everyone is a fraud took the credit, even if it didn't sit right with Vegeta at all (or with Chichi or really anyone other than Goku and Gohan). Chichi understood the need to stay away from the cameras and lights - it wasn't good for any of them - but she hated that someone was essentially making money off of her son's achievement while Gohan got nothing in return. But they kept the explanation simple for the children and kept the conflicting emotions out of it. In order to live peaceful lives, they let Mr. Satan take the credit. 

Tenshi, Goten, and Trunks were all pouting, though, so it was clear that they were unhappy about the rest of the world thinking a fake like him could have defeated Cell. 

Eventually, Gohan arrived - though not alone. Videl was with him again today, and when Tenshi caught wind of what Videl was talking to Gohan about, it took all her energy and effort not to show her excitement. There was a tournament gearing up, complete with a junior division! She'd have to tell Mommy when she got back.... In addition to the other things she wanted to talk to him about. 

When she got to talk to Mommy, it was nighttime. They were all still at the Briefs, and Goten and Trunks were asleep in the room they were sharing, while the others were asleep in either their respective rooms or guest rooms. Videl had gone home by that point. Asking about how Mommy and Daddy made a baby had been easier, and Piccolo had had no problems with supplying an answer to that. According to Piccolo, "it's about time we explained that to you anyway." 

But the next part wasn't so easy for either of them, really. 

"Grandma said you and Daddy are just friends. But Daddy said he loves you, and everyone else's parents love each other...." 

Piccolo didn't say anything for a long moment. But Tenshi didn't stop there. 

"But Grandpa said that aside from me, you don't like anyone more than you like Daddy.... So doesn't that mean that you love Daddy, too?" 

"There . . . are different kinds of love, Tenshi. And none of those forms of love are inferior to the other.... They're just different. I do love your father. Just not in the same way he loves me. And not in the way that you mean when you say other people's parents...." 

"How come? If Daddy loves you that way...." 

Piccolo shrugged. It was really the only answer he could give her that she'd be able to understand at her age. 

"Maybe it's our age difference, or maybe it's just the different way I'm built form him, but . . . I've always seen him as . . . family." 

"Grandpa and Grandma are family...." 

"That's different." 

Tenshi pouted. She was getting tired of being given that as an answer. But she didn't seem to be able to get any other answer out of him. 

"Does it hurt? To love someone differently than they love you?" 

". . . . It can." Piccolo knew it hurt Gohan, and it hurt to watch something he had no control over hurt the one of the two people he cared for most. 

They sat there in silence, mulling things over. Then Tenshi brought up the tournament. 

"Can I compete in it? Please please please?" 

"We'll see. If your training goes well and I think you're ready for it, you may." 

Tenshi smiled. Even if things weren't the way she thought it was at home, she could still fight. As long as she could fight, she'd be good.


	16. To See a Lamb at School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training for the tournament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really upset Mr. Popo is a Sambo/blackface character because I love him so and it hurts.

Piccolo had another day off, and he had decided to take Tenshi up to the Lookout for training. Dende and Mr. Popo watched as mother and daughter sparred, occasionally taking breaks when Tenshi pushed herself too hard and ended up far shorter of breath than she should be. 

Not much was said during the actual training itself, but soon they came to a stop and Tenshi over-dramatically drug herself towards the table Mr. Popo had set up with lemonade. She drug her feet and made a bit of a show of forcing herself to reach the table. 

"Oh no...! Oh dear...! Might not make it...! Ahhhhhhh...!" 

She reached the chair and pulled herself up, then sighed with relief and accepted the glass of lemonade Mr. Popo had fixed her. 

Piccolo sat across from her, and Dende and Mr. Popo sat in the other two available chairs. 

"You've really improved since the last time I saw you train, Tenshi," Dende said, smiling. Tenshi was busy sipping her lemonade, but she nodded in response. 

Piccolo had a slight frown on his face, but it wasn't all that noticeable to his daughter, who was used to him looking a little frowny all the time. Mr. Popo, however, was looking up at Piccolo with curiosity, wondering what was bothering him. Ever since he had become one with Kami, Piccolo had developed Kami's facial telegraphs. Mr. Popo always knew when Kami was worried about something and hiding it, and now it was no different with Piccolo. 

Something was worrying him. 

A bruise was rapidly appearing where Tenshi had fallen on her arm during training, and Dende reached out to heal it. Tenshi set the glass down as he did so and giggled as her skin tingled with the healing sensation. 

"That tickles!" 

Dende finished healing the bruise. "Does it? Well, how about . . . this!" 

He leaned forward and gently grabbed her, tickling her stomach. Tenshi shrieked with laughter, though the tickle play didn't last long. She ended up getting overcome by a coughing fit, and Dende realized that perhaps that hadn't been such a good idea. He let her recover, then Tenshi sighed in relief and continued to drink her lemonade. 

"Sorry...." Dende said. 

"It's okay!" Tenshi said. "It was still fun." 

After a while, Tenshi pushed off of the chair. 

"Where's the bathroom?" 

"Down the hall and to the right," Dende said. 

"'Kay!" 

Tenshi went off to the bathroom, and Mr. Popo finally spoke up. 

"What's worrying you, Piccolo? Is something wrong?" 

Dende turned to look at Piccolo and Mr. Popo, curious. 

Piccolo's frown deepened. 

"She can fight recreationally.... But the longer I see where her limits are and see how far we're able to push them, the less I want to tell anyone she's training.... Especially Goku." 

Dende and Mr. Popo stared at him for a moment. 

"You're anxious about other people pushing her too far because they misunderstand her limits. Right?" Mr. Popo asked. 

Piccolo nodded. "Like Gohan, she has a lot of power inside of her. But with how her body is, she needs to conserve it. If she doesn't . . . ." 

"She could really hurt herself," Dende finished for him. 

"Right.... She likes to exaggerate and play and make jokes, but she really is tired right now.... She pretends that she's not because she doesn't want Gohan to be right about her need to rest...." 

"Because he's overly concerned and protective," Mr. Popo stated. It wasn't a question. 

Piccolo was quiet for a moment. 

"I . . . I understand why he's trying to create this . . . protective bubble around her. I understand that. And to an extent, I support that. But she has been getting stronger, and her health is _better_ now that she's actually getting exercise in a way that she can get excited about it. And part of it is the nutrition, too, and that was all Gohan, Dr. Briefs, and Bulma but...." 

"But his fears are holding her back," Dende said. 

Piccolo nodded. 

"I do remember when she could barely move her own oxygen tank, even in the cart. She had been so frail...." Dende remarked. 

"Especially before you figured out she needed dietary supplements," Mr. Popo added. "The poor thing could barely lift herself out of bed some days." 

They were quiet for a long moment, then Tenshi returned all smiles, though slower than she would have moved before. 

"Mr. Popo, can I have more lemonade?" 

"Of course, sweetheart." 

"Yay~! Thank you!" 

Mr. Popo watched as she drank the lemonade with gusto, and he couldn't help but smile fondly at her. She was so cute and sweet and precious, and he wanted her to have the best in life. 

Dende and Piccolo also watched her fondly, though Piccolo's thoughts were still with his worries. 

She did have incredibly power. But if Goku or Vegeta learned of it . . . if there was ever another threat to the universe or Earth, they would make her fight if they knew she was capable of it.... There was a difference between being capable of it and it being worthwhile for the person and being capable of it but it not being worthwhile for the person. 

Fighting to protect the Earth or anything else would probably kill Tenshi just from the effort of trying. Her body wasn't meant for it. She couldn't heal on her own, and her lung capacity would never be efficient for it. 

But she could fight for fun, and he would let her do that. There was nothing wrong with that, especially when Dende was right close by to fix her bruises and cuts. 

"So Mommy," Tenshi said, and that pulled Piccolo out of his thoughts. "What do you think? Can I enter that junior tournament? With Trunks and Goten?" 

Dende and Mr. Popo watched Piccolo as they waited for an answer. Piccolo gave it some further thought. It had been in his mind throughout their training sessions since she had first asked. 

". . . All right." 

"YES!" 

"On one condition." 

Tenshi blinked repeatedly, waiting for elaboration. 

"You can easily take on most human children. That is indisputable. But Trunks has Vegeta, who has been pushing and pushing him, regardless of any tournament because of Saiyan pride. Goku has been training Goten, and we both know how Goku is. No matter how well I train you, you have handicaps. As much as you might want to, I do not want you to push yourself to your limits. Do not over-exert yourself. If you feel like you can't finish a fight in a way that keeps you safe, I want you to forfeit." 

Tenshi wanted to interrupt him, but he didn't let her. 

"Do not get prideful or obstinate with me. If I can't trust you to do this, I won't let you fight." 

Tenshi shut her mouth immediately at the threat. Then, after mulling it over, she asked, "How come?" 

Piccolo relaxed a little bit, glad she wasn't fighting him like she would Gohan. 

"Because your safety is far more important than any victory. Nothing is more important to me than you." 

Tenshi flushed a little and looked down at her lemonade. 

". . . But if I can win without hurting myself, I can still try, right?" 

"Of course." 

Tenshi smiled up at him. "Okay! I promise!" 

After they finished their lemonade and Tenshi used the restroom again, Piccolo and Tenshi bid Mr. Popo and Dende goodbye and headed back home. 

Once at home, they found Goten slumped over the kitchen table and Chichi cooking up dinner. 

"What happened to you?" Tenshi asked. Goten groaned and lifted his head off of the table, but little else. 

"Dad's a killer teacher," Goten remarked. Tenshi blinked repeatedly, noticing just how scratched up and dirt-spotted he was. She reached out to touch the back of Goten's shirt. 

"Ewwwww, you're super sweaty! Go take a bath!" 

Piccolo went over to Chichi. 

"Need any help?" he asked. 

"Yeah, can you check on the rice for me?" 

Piccolo moved to do just that as she handled the meat and vegetables. 

"Where's Gohan?" Piccolo asked. 

"He's training with his friend. Videl, I think her name is." 

Piccolo stirred the rice, but he paused as she answered the question. 

"He's training?" Without him? Or Goku? 

"Yeah, I encouraged him to enter along with you and Goku because of the prize money. There's money for the runner-up, and I want both of them. Combine that with the junior division that Goten's entering, that'll take care of a lot of expenses!" 

". . . You don't like your job, do you?" 

Chichi whipped a hand towel at Piccolo's face. 

"Really!? Daddy's training!?" 

Piccolo and Chichi turned to see Tenshi's face all lit up. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that she apparently had worn her martial art gi just to visit Dende. She gave Piccolo a suspicious look that Piccolo didn't pick up on because he was too busy looking at his daughter. 

"I wanna see! Where'd they go!?" 

"They're in the backyard," Chichi said. 

"Are you sure you don't want to rest, first?" Piccolo said. 

"I'll be fine!" Tenshi shouted as she tore through the house and out the door. 

Piccolo frowned. Should he really trust her ability to know her own limits? 

Tenshi rushed to where Gohan and Videl must've been training, and soon enough she found them. A little out of breath, she crouched and hid among the shrubbary. From what she could see, Gohan was teaching Videl how to use her ki.... Hey, when was Tenshi going to get to learn that? 

Videl concentrated her ki into a little ball, trying to mimic what Gohan was doing. Gohan kept his eyes on Videl, and Videl's eyes were on her ki ball, sometimes looking at the ki ball Gohan had created as a reference. 

Tenshi wondered if she could do that too, but then she saw Videl's ball fizzle out, and Videl looked pretty frustrated with it. 

"It's okay, sometimes it takes a while. I've been doing this for years. It wasn't that easy at first, trust me," Gohan assured her. 

Videl still crossed her arms and pouted. 

"Not fair...." 

Videl then leaned forward to get a much better look at the ball. Gohan leaned back some, but that just made her come closer. 

"Uhhhh," Gohan blushed, and Tenshi didn't really get why. "Careful, it's dangerous...." 

They sat there like that for a while, and Tenshi had no idea what was going on in their heads, but Gohan's ki ball fizzled out for an unknown reason, and Gohan squeezed his eyes shut and screwed his face up. Videl took a moment to realize the ball wasn't there anymore and what she was staring at now that it was gone. 

Blushing, Videl flung herself backwards and quickly pulled herself into a standing position. Tenshi didn't get it; why was she getting so flustered at accidentally staring at Daddy's crotch? Daddy also was acting weird and bowing his head and pulling his knees up to his chest to "cover up", even though it wasn't even like they had seen each other naked.... 

"I-I-I think that's enough for one day," Videl said, looking in the opposite direction of Gohan. 

"Y-y-yeah...." Gohan said, still not opening his eyes. 

"What'chu doing?" Tenshi piped up, stepping out from the shrubbery. 

Daddy's eyes snapped open, and Videl jumped, startled, then they both snapped their heads around to look at her. 

"Tenshi!" Gohan quickly stood up and went over to her. "How long have you been there?" 

"A little bit. Mommy and I went to Dende's and Mr. Popo made lots of lemonade!" 

Gohan picked her up, and he and Videl walked back to the house. 

"He did? That's great. And you meditated, too?" 

"Mm-hm!" Tenshi lied. 

Daddy seemed distracted, even while actively engaging with her and asking questions, and Videl was still blushing. 

Had Tenshi missed something?


	17. And so the Teacher Turned Her Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tournament: Start.

The day of the tournament had come, and for once Chichi was not the first of those who slept who was awake. 

"It's morning!" Goku announced, grabbing Goten's shoulders and shaking him awake. Goten groaned, but picked himself up out of his bed and managed to push himself towards his dresser to grab his gi. He was getting used to Goku waking him up at what felt like ungodly hours to train. But he supposed he'd thank the man later. Maybe. He was excited for the tournament, after all. He couldn't wait to fight against Trunks. 

It was just so _early_. 

But it was nothing compared to how Gohan felt as Goku spoke loudly in his ear. Gohan had fallen asleep at his desk working on homework late into the night, and he had jumped and his hair sparked gold for a moment before reverting back to black. 

" _Holy shit_ , Dad, don't _do_ that," Gohan complained, trying to get his breathing to go back to normal. His dream . . . his dream had been weird. Cell was there and was just as terrifying as before, but for some reason, he was using quantum physics mathematics to torment him instead. 

"The tournament's today!" Goku said instead of acknowledging that he had scared the shit out of his previously-fast-asleep son. Gohan sighed heavily, wondering why he expected anything else than what he got. 

Chichi made breakfast as they got ready, and Tenshi and Piccolo knew what their plan was. Tenshi wore a pretty sun dress that Piccolo had clothes-beamed for her - a pretty blue one with white flowers decorating it with a bonnet to match, her antennae tucked inside of it, much like how he wore his turban. Piccolo wore his usual purple gi, and Gohan was dressed similarly. He frowned a bit as his gi tugged in certain places more than it used to. Depending on how intense the fights got, his gi might rip a bit _too_ easily. 

"Want me to make you a new one?" Piccolo asked. 

Gohan thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "Nah. I made it myself, so I'll let it wear as long as it can, then we can beam me a new one." 

"Suit yourself." 

Piccolo was nervous. Today would be the day they had no choice but to let Gohan find out that Tenshi had been training. That Tenshi would be competing in the tournament. There was no other option. And Piccolo would keep enough of his dignity to let it happen. There was no point in making a fool of both him and Gohan by trying to hide it further than today. It would be an insult to all involved. And incredibly selfish. He knew this would happen and had planned for it. 

But now, on the day of, he was . . . fearful. 

There was no way to truly prepare for how Gohan would react. And he wasn't . . . _ready_ for it. 

Once they had eaten and gotten dressed, they were ready to go. They held onto Goku, and Goku teleported all of them to the tournament location. 

Once there, they were greeted by their friends: Krillin, 18, their daughter Marron, Yamcha, Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Ox King (it had been easier for him to meet them there due to age and Ox King's distance from the mountains vs. distance from the tournament), Dr. Briefs and his wife, Oolong, Puar, Dende, and Mr. Popo. Gohan had been surprised to see Dende and Mr. Popo there, but it had been a long time since he had seen them, so he didn't complain. They all talked amongst themselves as they approached the sign-in lines. 

Videl managed to find Gohan, and she pulled him towards the adult sign-up line while Goku and Bulma took Goten and Trunks to the sign-up for the junior division. 

"Hello everyone, welcome to the Tenkaichi Budokai! This is the table for the sign-up for the junior division. All participants need a parent or guardian over the age of 18 to accompany them to the sign-up desk." 

Piccolo double-checked that Gohan was sufficiently distracted by his friend, then quickly ushered Tenshi towards the junior division sign-up table. 

Goku and Bulma turned their heads around when they noticed Piccolo getting into their line with Tenshi. 

"Piccolo?" Goku asked. 

Trunks and Goten also turned around. 

"What're you doing here?" Trunks asked. 

"This is the tournament sign-up...." Goten said, getting a bad feeling. 

Tenshi grinned at them. "I'm fighting! Mommy's been training me!" 

"What!?" Goten's face blanched. The only real objection Goten had to this was Gohan's reaction. Just imagining how Gohan would react terrified him to death. 

"Wow, really? That's great!" Goku said. "Oh man, I'll get to see you fight! This'll be cool!" Goku remarked. Goten gave Goku an exasperated look. 

"But Dad, Gohan'll kill us!" 

"Only if she gets hurt." 

"Dad, you're really not seeing the point." 

"If Piccolo thinks she can fight, then she's gonna be awesome!" 

"Dad. Dad no. What if she and I get paired up?" 

"Uh.... Either fight her or forfeit, I guess." 

Goten pouted at his father, but he supposed those were his only options. Forfeit it would have to be then. He liked his spine where it was. 

Trunks watched Tenshi for a bit. "You sure you'll be okay?" 

"Sure I'm sure!" 

"All right then. I won't go easy on you," Trunks warned. 

"I wouldn't want you to," Tenshi said, grinning. Piccolo cleared his throat a little. "Aw, c'mon, Mommy, it's not like I'm taunting him or anything." 

Eventually, Goku and Goten reached the front of the line. 

"Son Goten, age 6!" 

"Child of?" 

"Son Goku and Chichi!" 

There was some recognition in their faces at the names as they jotted it down, asking if he was the same Goku who fought all those years ago. 

"Trunks Briefs, age 7, child of Bulma Briefs." 

More recognition and a few excited murmurs amongst the staff. 

"Son Tenshi, age 6. Daughter of . . . ." Piccolo started, but then was stumped on whether or not to give his actual name or if he should go by a nickname like before. 

"Piccolo Majunior and Son Gohan!" Tenshi jumped in before he could stop her. 

The recognition of the first name was obvious as the color drained from their faces. Then some of them noticed that she was wearing a nasal cannula. But they looked up at Piccolo before saying anything about it, and apparently thought better of it as they quickly wrote her down into the book. 

Piccolo quickly moved Tenshi through the barrier that separated the children competitors from the others. All of the parents were wishing their children good luck before they had to either enter themselves into the adult division or go into the sidelines. 

Bulma had her hand on her hip, and she was looking at Piccolo with a frown. 

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. 

Piccolo opened his mouth, but had she asked him that weeks ago, he would have said yes. Now he really wasn't so sure.

"You two do your best, okay?" Goku said, ruffling Goten's hair and patting Tenshi on the head. 

"Okay, Dad." 

"Yes, Grandpa!" 

Piccolo zapped Tenshi a gi that popped into her arms. The dress was too cute to zap into non-existence, even if he could just make another one. 

"Thanks, Mommy!" 

"Be careful. Remember what I told you." 

"I will!" 

Piccolo and Goku then rejoined the other fighters, and Bulma went to re-find Yamcha, Chichi, Oolong, Puar, her parents, and Ox King. When she found them, she sat next to Chichi. Chichi blinked repeatedly. 

"Where's Tenshi? Wasn't she with you?" 

"About that...." 

With the adult division, there was some nonsense with a machine that measured how much power you had. Hercule Satan demonstrated for them, and then Goku and the others passed the test easily. Videl did as well, and a few others. 

"That's my girl!" Hercule shouted. Videl tried to not show a reaction, but Gohan saw her eyebrow twitch. 

"You don't like it when your dad does that?" he asked. 

"Not really. I'm 18 years old, for crying out loud, not a little kid...." 

Gohan made a mental note for when Tenshi was their age. 

Thankfully, Gohan got to get his measured before Vegeta broke the stupid thing. 

Over the intercom, the announcer did his job and made an announcement. 

"We are ready to start the junior division of the tournament! We have so many kids competing this year, but only one can go home with the prize! But before we begin, there's something very special we want to share with you all! We have some tournament history in the making today! Can the Son family please come up to the arena?" 

Gohan blinked repeatedly, then started to walk towards the arena area. 

Goku started to follow, then noticed Piccolo wasn't coming with, then grabbed Piccolo's arm and tugged him along. 

"You're part of the family, too, silly!" Goku said as Piccolo protested. 

Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Goten, Tenshi, and Chichi found their way to the arena, and they stood side by side near the announcer. The crowd was huge and peered at them, and they were all equally curious as to what was going on. Videl and Hercule were watching, as were Vegeta, 18, and Krillin. 

"Audience! I don't know how many of you have been coming since before Hercule Satan became a regular competitor, but Son Goku was a tournament winner back in the olden days! At 18 years old, he won the tournament, defeated the son of Piccolo Daimou the Demon King, and married fellow martial artist, Chichi, daughter of the Ox King! Today he joins the tournament yet again, and with the whole family! Give it up for the Sons!" 

There was some applause, though not overwhelmingly loud. It was clear that there were many who had no idea what any of that meant, but Goku and Chichi and Piccolo could see older members of the audience - people's grandparents, mostly - staring at Goku with awe and clapping enough for the rest of them. 

"So Goku, why don't you tell us a bit about what's been happening? Why haven't you competed until now and when you last fought?" 

"Oh, well, a lot of stuff happened! Lots of other fights elsewhere, you know? Some alien invasions, traveled through space." He almost said "fought Cell" but he remembered that they had all agreed to keep that on the down low. 

"Oh wow! Well, you'll have to tell us all about that someday! And uh...." The announcer seemed to only just realize that Piccolo was standing right with them. "And Piccolo Jr. is part of the family now?" 

"Eh heh, well, yeah, he did parent my granddaughter." 

"G-granddaughter!? You're 35!" 

Gohan and Piccolo blushed heavily, but Tenshi and Goten didn't really get that that was _really_ young to be a grandparent. 

Goku laughed nervously. "Yeah, well.... Things happen!" 

"Ah, right, right.... Anyway, most of your family has entered the tournament this go-around, right?" 

"Yeah! Me and my sons, Gohan and Goten, Piccolo, and Tenshi!" 

There was a pause that was only filled with the announcer's question of "And Tenshi's your granddaughter?" and Goku's answer of "Uh-huh." Gohan's brain had come to a complete halt, and Piccolo was waiting for the explosion. 

Goten inched away from his family to seek shelter behind Chichi, and Chichi's eyes widened. Bulma had already told her, but having the news broken to Gohan so suddenly boded less well than what Chichi had in store for Piccolo (and Goku if he had had anything to do with it) did. 

"No she's not," Gohan said, not sounding calm. But not having exploded yet. 

The announcer looked over at Gohan. Piccolo swallowed hard. 

"Yeah, I am!" Tenshi piped up. She was all signed up and there wasn't anything Daddy could do about it. 

" _No_ , you're _not_." Gohan said, looking down at her and noticing for the first time that she had changed clothes. 

"Yes - " she started, but Gohan wouldn't let her. 

"No, you're not!" 

_There_ was the growing explosion Piccolo had expected and had started to fear. 

"You take that off right now and go with your grandmother and watch from the audience! What were you thinking!? How'd you even get signed up!?" 

An idea took hold in Gohan's head, and he immediately glared at Goku. Goku put his hands up. 

"Wasn't me, wasn't me!" Goku insisted. 

"If not you, then who, because who the hell else would sign up his DISABLED GRANDDAUGHTER into a tournament when she hasn't had any martial arts training!?" 

Gohan's voice was reaching the microphone, and his protests were echoing through the stadium. 

"But she said she does have training!" Goku said. 

Gohan gritted his teeth and looked like he might punch Goku right there, screw the tournament rules, but what happened next stopped him. 

"He only found out that it today. Goku had nothing to do with it," Piccolo said. 

Gohan paused, then turned his head to look at Piccolo, eyes widening. Piccolo could see the raw feeling of disbelief in his eyes. Disbelief turned to betrayal. 

"You - you _lied_ to me?" Gohan asked, the emotion in his voice so vulnerable and raw that it made Piccolo want to flinch. Then anger mixed with the rest of it. "You _lied to me_ about _what you've been doing with our daughter_!?" 

Piccolo took a deep breath. 

"I lied about her not training and learning martial arts, yes." 

_Now_ Gohan punched someone. Piccolo, specifically. Tenshi gasped audibly. The punch didn't pack as much power as Gohan could've put behind it. But it stung and it snapped his head back. He popped his neck, then turned back to look at Gohan. His cheek throbbed. 

Gohan whirled onto the announcer. 

"She can't fight! She doesn't have permission!" 

"C'mon, Gohan, she really wants to!" Goku said. 

"YOU STAY OUT OF IT!" 

Goku flinched and put his hands up in surrender. 

The announcer took a moment to find his words. 

"Well, you are her parent, so hypothetically, you could take her out, but...." said the announcer. 

"But what?!" 

"Um.... Ordinarily I wouldn't ask, but . . . how old are you?" 

Gohan paused for a moment, then answered, "Seventeen...." 

"I'm . . . I'm afraid you _can't_ pull her out. Only a legal guardian of or over the age of 18 can enter a child into the tournament, and only a legal guardian of or over the age of 18 can pull her out." 

Tenshi's face lit up like the sun. She had been worried this was the end, but it wasn't! 

Gohan wasn't giving up, though. He turned to Piccolo. 

"Tell them she can't fight! You have to!" 

Piccolo gave it thought, and both Gohan and Tenshi were staring up at him. He could also feel Goku and Chichi watching him.... Along with every single person in the stupid stadium. Watching his parenting. 

He took a deep breath. 

"No. She stays in the tournament unless she loses or forfeits." 

"YES!" Tenshi shouted. 

Piccolo knew that was Gohan offering Piccolo a chance to redeem himself in Gohan's eyes. This was a great betrayal of Gohan's trust, he realized. It would take time to earn it back. If he could get Gohan to see that this was for Tenshi's own good, he knew he could earn it back. But if he couldn't.... 

Gohan was unbelievably angry right now, and it must've taken so much self control not to explode further. 

Piccolo could see tears forming as Gohan turned to his parents. 

"Mom! Dad! Do something! Tell him he can't let her do it!" Gohan's voice was wavering. 

"But Gohan, she really wants to fight. She always has. And I really want to see her do it," Goku said, still holding his hands up. 

Gohan then looked to Chichi, and Chichi looked from Gohan to Piccolo to Tenshi, then back. She took a deep breath and sighed. 

"I would if I thought they would listen, Gohan...." She remembered trying to protect Gohan. Nothing she had tried worked. Maybe she should have cautioned her son more about how little they listen.... 

Gohan shook with anger and hurt. He trusted Piccolo to have his back on protecting Tenshi. He trusted Piccolo to look after her, take care of her when he wasn't there. He _trusted him_! 

He stormed off the arena and went into the fighters-only area, passing Videl. 

Piccolo saw Videl go after Gohan and put her hand on Gohan's shoulder, and he felt a spike of annoyance mix with the conflicting feelings of guilt and hurt. It was stupid, especially in the light of what just happened, to be so annoyed by a friend comforting Gohan.... Gohan was angry _at_ him after all.... 

The announcer laughed nervously. 

"So! Um, who's ready for the start of the junior division!?" 

Goku, Piccolo, and Chichi went back to where they belonged, and Goten and Tenshi went back to where the other kids were. Trunks had seen the whole thing from where he had been watching, and his eyes were rather wide as they returned. 

"You two okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah, somehow...." Goten said. "I thought Gohan was gonna blow up. Like, literally blow up." 

"I get to fight! It's gonna be awesome!" Tenshi said, adjusting her nasal cannula some. 

Trunks watched as she did so. "Are you gonna switch to the face mask? It might be more useful." 

"It's tubing is bigger and easier to grab, though." 

"They'd have to be a colossal jerk to grab your breathing tubes." 

Tenshi shrugged. 

It had been . . . unsettling to see Daddy punch Mommy in the face like that. She had never seen them spar, ever, and Daddy had been pretty mad. But she also knew Daddy had a lot of strength that he hadn't used, so she felt confident that Mommy and Daddy would be able to make up soon. 

She was going to love fighting in this tournament. She had a really good feeling about it.


	18. But Still She Lingered Near

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenshi has her first match. But it's not just Gohan doubting Tenshi's ability to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about the Namekian language (as made-up as it would be), but I decided to be punny and made their Namekian pronoun be 'mollu,' which I derived from the latin word mollusca. Get it? Slugs are mollusca? Eh? Eh? It's 'cause Namekians are based off slugs. Laugh, dammit.

Gohan had tore past everyone else in the building until he reached a fairly secluded outdoor area. He leaned against the wall, shoulders tense and eyes stinging. His breathing was labored, and the tears rolled down his face as he couldn't hold it in any longer. 

He trusted him, he trusted him, _he trusted him_! 

Memories of Tenshi cracking out of her egg and rushing her to the hospital and actually being _asked_ if they as a family wanted to just let her _die_ as though that was some kind of real option.... Then watching her struggle as she grew older. It had taken far too long to realize that she needed nutritional supplements, and they had unknowingly been starving her to death until they figured it out.... 

_How could he just let her **fight**?_

He heard footsteps approach, and he covered his face as Videl found him. 

She didn't say anything at first, but she lifted her hand and placed it onto his shoulder. 

"Hey.... It'll be okay. We have medics on staff. No one's gonna let anything bad happen to her." 

A sob escaped Gohan, and he hated it, he hated feeling this way, he hated being _useless_ like he had been way back then, when Vegeta and Nappa invaded. He hated it, he hated it, he hated being such a crybaby.... Pathethic crybaby Gohan who didn't belong on the battlefield and got Piccolo killed.... Who wasn't old enough to keep his little girl safe.... Who was never old enough to properly take care of her.... Useless, useless, _useless_! 

He realized he was crying, sobbing, harder than before, enough to make Videl worried. He felt her arms wrap around him, and he buried his face into her shoulder (despite her being a lot shorter than him, it managed to work out). Due to her pigtails, some of her hair was against the side of his face. He didn't mind that so much, but a tiny thought in his mind was concerned he'd get gross fluid stuff - face leakage - in it and that she'd get ticked about that. 

But he felt her hand rubbing his back, and he could hear her trying to comfort him awkwardly. It was obvious she really didn't do this often, but she was trying.... 

"She's too fragile...! She can't breathe, she bruises too easily, she's not built for fighting...! How could he put her out there?" 

Videl didn't know enough about any of this. She didn't know . . . what was wrong with Tenshi specifically. She didn't know anything about medicine or alien species.... She didn't know anything about being a parent or what it was like for Gohan being so young and looking after her.... She didn't even know Piccolo all that well, either, and she had only known Gohan for a few months now.... She was so removed from the situation that she didn't know what to say.... 

But . . . she wanted to comfort him and help him not be as sad. She couldn't fix it, but.... 

"I don't know.... But . . . it's safe here. We have people here to look after her if anything bad does happen. We won't let her get hurt. The tournament staff are good people and will take good care of her." 

Gohan managed to pull himself together and pulled away, wiping at his eyes and sniffing. 

"You promise?" Gohan asked. After he said it, he knew it was a stupid thing to ask, but too late now. 

Videl swallowed, and Gohan knew not to put too much stock in the response, but it . . . comforted him to know that she at least felt confident enough to say it - or cared about him enough to pretend that it was in their control. 

"I promise. We'll look after her." 

Gohan met her eyes, and he was rather overwhelmed by just how much . . . how much giving-a-shit was in her eyes. It wasn't as though Gohan had never been around people who cared, but . . . somehow it was different with her. Caring looked . . . vibrant when she did it. Like all she had to do was give a shit, and she could move mountains without moving a muscle. 

He could feel that funny feeling that happened to his stomach when he found himself staring at Piccolo too long coming on, and he was torn between being embarrassed by it and ashamed of himself. He knew it meant he really liked Videl, but he was very much still in _love_ with Piccolo. Even now, with how angry and betrayed he felt . . . he wanted nothing more than for he and Piccolo to be.... 

He had wanted it for years. _Years_. And right when he started to just resign himself to the fact that Piccolo would always be just out of reach . . . he met Videl and now. . . . 

"Thank you," he said, chastising himself on getting distracted by how her eyes shone with what could only be described as _power_. 

She gave him a smile. "No problem.... Do you wanna watch from the stands or want to get something to eat? We can do whatever is easiest for you." 

She knew that Tenshi would probably want to Gohan to see at least one of her fights.... But she also knew that Gohan was seventeen years old and had very obviously gone through far too much for his age. He needed a break from being responsible. And she was more than willing to supply it. 

Gohan thought about it for a bit, then he quietly asked, ". . . Food sounds nice." 

He felt . . . a little guilty at choosing that over seeing Tenshi fighting, but . . . he didn't think he could handle watching it. He'd . . . he'd be too worried. He'd be able to hear what was going on thanks to the loud speakers and screens all over, anyway.... 

Her smile widened, and she took his hand and led the way. 

"We have some killer vendors for the tournament, there's bound to be something that strikes our fancy." 

Gohan blushed a little as she held his hand. Hers were calloused but still soft in places, unlike Piccolo's whose were almost entirely rough from having roughed it in the mountains and in fights for so long. Really it was just her finger tips.... 

She grew up a lot differently than he did, he realized. He guessed he knew that already, but just from feeling her hand, it stood out more to him.... 

Meanwhile, the junior division was getting underway. A few matches were held with children who had no connection to our heroes, and then the announcer took to the arena. 

"Ladies and gentlemen! I'll announce the next match in just a quick moment, but I'm going to address a question that a lot of you have brought to our attention! Many of you seem concerned about the backpack Son Tenshi is wearing. She is willing to explain what it is, and her - uh - doctor can answer any questions we have!" 

Piccolo stood nearby, mouth frowning. 

The announcer lowered the microphone so Tenshi could talk into it. 

"Hi everybody!" Tenshi waved at them. Some of the audience waved back. "Mr. Announcer Guy says that some of you think my backpack has, like, secret weapons or something in it. That's silly, I don't need weapons to fight! That's what fists are for!" 

There was some laughter in the crowd, and Tenshi grinned. 

"In the backpack is my oxygen! See this thing in my nose? It's called a nasal cannula, and it helps me get air that I can't get without it. I also have a face mask for when I'm really out of breath. The backpack has everything that I need in order to breathe like everybody else! Bulma Briefs - you know her, right? Capsule Corp., represent! - she made it for me so I wouldn't have to cart a big, super heavy tank around! It is metal under the soft fabric, so no one really wants to hit it. You'll hurt your hand or foot!" 

"But you can fight just fine, right?" the announcer asked. 

"Yep! Mommy wouldn't let me fight if it didn't." 

Dende tapped the announcer on the shoulder, and the announcer brought the microphone to Dende so he could speak. 

"I'll also be nearby in case something bad happens during the fights. Tenshi isn't able to heal on her own. As a Namekian like her and a trained healer, I'm best equipped to treat her. Between me and the tank, she has everything she needs in order to be just as safe as the other competitors." 

"So there you have it! With Tenshi's doctor's approval, she will continue to be in the tournament! And her first match is next! Tenshi vs. Inari!" 

"Yes!" Tenshi shouted, hurrying into the middle of the ring. 

The announcer and Dende left the arena. Dende sighed in relief and went to Piccolo's side. 

"I get that it's strange and different, but I can't believe so many people actually complained to the staff about her competing...." Dende muttered to Piccolo. 

Piccolo's frown deepened. 

"Yeah.... Either they wanted her kicked out because she got to have a backpack, or they wanted her kicked out because she might get hurt. I don't see any of them caring if their own kids get hurt." 

"And there's kids in the back complaining that she's 'not a girl' but there's no actual rule saying that your gender on your application has to be quote-on-quote 'accurate,' so at least they _can't_ disqualify her on the basis that they can't fathom how Namekian gender works...." 

"And human gender isn't even all that different. At work, I've met a few humans who had parts that 'belong' to the other human gender, so I call bullshit on the whole thing. She has both sets anyway, so what's it matter if she pees standing up?" 

"They probably don't realize she does have the second set." 

Piccolo blushed a light purple. He didn't want to have that conversation with anyone other than his own children. 

"Either way, when she's done with the fight, you should talk to her about using the bathroom meant for the gender she identifies as. This is kind of her first time using a public restroom, isn't it?" 

"Yeah...." 

"Well, she's just following Trunks and Goten around, and she's the only girl registered for some reason, so she'd be the only one _in_ that bathroom. And I've heard they have stalls instead of those urinal things...." 

"You mean . . . actual privacy? For everybody?" 

Dende nodded. The two Namekians contemplated that for a moment. 

". . . If I didn't feel very comfortable in this whole male, he pronoun thing, I'd switch pronouns just for that," Piccolo said. 

"Me too. Right now wondering how attached I am _really_ to the human pronoun because really, I had just assumed it was their word for 'mollu.' Would I have to start wearing dresses?" 

"They're not that different from what you're wearing right now." 

"True...." 

"Maybe ask Krillin and 18? They once said something at some point about human women being treated differently from men, so maybe the bathroom privacy isn't worth it...." 

"Really? Damn." 

While Piccolo and Dende were having their gender-and-pronoun conversation, Tenshi got into a stance to face her partner. 

The match didn't last long. She was much stronger than him, and she could follow his moves very easily. A punch to the gut had him go down, and she had to reconsider how much strength she should use. 

"Ew!" she cried out as he puked onto the arena. 

Yes. _Definitely_ tone down the strength in the punches until she fought Goten and Trunks. 

"Ew ew ew ew, what even _is_ that?!" 

Namekians only vomit up eggs, you see. No eating means no vomiting and no pooping. Meaning as a Namekian, Tenshi is very clean and underestimates how gross other living creatures can be. 

Goten and Trunks laughed from the side lines at Tenshi's face. Not to be cruel to the boy she just beat up, but they had never seen someone look so grossed out before. 

"You know what, Goten? I was worried we'd have to go easy on her, but Piccolo trained her good! She'll be able to put up a good fight after all!" Trunks said, his worries from before melting away. 

"Eh heh, right...." Goten's smile faded. He wasn't looking forward to that at all. He'd have to forfeit, and then people were gonna make fun of him. Mostly Trunks.... Oh man.


	19. And waited patiently about 'Til Gohan Did Appear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tournament continues.

The tournament was actually far less interesting than anyone had thought it would be, due to Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi all plowing through the competition. Compared to their peers, they were leagues beyond them in strength, so all their fights ended very quickly. 

The biggest issues had occurred when a kid's kick had missed its target (Tenshi's head) and hit a valve on Tenshi's backpack. 

Oxygen started spraying out of the tank, making a high pitched noise that caused Tenshi to clamp her hands over her ears. She quickly kicked the boy in the stomach and got him out in a ring-out, then Dende and Piccolo quickly fixed Tenshi's oxygen situation, replacing the tank entirely before trying to fix the tank itself. 

While they did that, Tenshi couldn't help but hear what was being said in the stands. She knew they didn't think she could hear them. But her ears were too good. 

She could hear their doubts. Their opinions on her ability, on whether or not she should even be fighting.... 

She puffed out her chest and took a deep breath of oxygen. 

She'd show them. She'd win and show them that she definitely could win, regardless on how well her lungs worked. 

Then Daddy would see that she wasn't a helpless little girl after all and trust her more. Believe in her more. Like Mommy did. 

She wasn't just a Namekian after all. She was a Saiyan too, like Trunks and Goten and Grandpa and Vegeta. Fighting was in her blood. 

Compared to the whisperings and mutterings in the crowd, the jeers she got behind the scenes in the back while they waited for their turns to fight were nothing. Though she had regretted using the same bathroom as Goten and Trunks, regardless.... 

"Why do they keep saying you're a girl? Girls don't pee standing up." 

They kept belaboring over the same topics over and over. It was mostly the older kids, with the younger ones just staring and watching. 

Trunks had his arms crossed. 

"Just ignore them. They're just trying to distract you so you won't be as focused when you fight them," he said. 

"You think?" she asked, adjusting her nasal cannula. 

"I know." Trunks turned his head to look at her. "Boys'll do anything to make you feel bad when they're insecure." 

"We do?" Goten asked. 

Tenshi smiled a little. She had a hard time imagining Goten doing anything like that. Trunks on the other hand . . . maybe. 

"Well, us older ones at least," Trunks said, somewhat dismissively. "Anyway, they're scared and are trying to hide it. And if they get beat by a girl, that's gonna really embarrass them, so they're trying to pretend that you're not one, so it doesn't hurt their precious ego as bad. Hey, maybe you should fight in that sun dress you wore earlier, then they'd _have_ to admit they got their butt beat by a girl." 

"Nah, it's really not suited for fighting. I'd hate to get it dirty." 

Tenshi realized a moment too late that Trunks really hadn't made any cracks about her "technically" or "not really" being a girl. She had never felt too bothered by it when he did it, but it had been kind of annoying and he would do it every now and then in the past. And this was an environment that was essentially trying to validate the comments and . . . he was on her side in it. 

She opened her mouth to say something about it, but then Trunks got called up for his next fight. 

It barely lasted a minute, but she felt like she had seen a part of Trunks she either hadn't seen before or had taken for granted. 

She smiled. Trunks really was her friend before anything else. 

When Trunks returned, she gave him a big hug without any explanation. 

"W-what are you doing!? Cut it out!" 

Trunks didn't like public displays of affection, and judging from the blush, he was embarrassed to be hugged in front of a bunch of other martial artist kids. 

Time seemed to crawl with how many children were in the tournament and how little of it was actually interesting for the Z warriors and their families to watch, but eventually it was down to four: Goten, Tenshi, Trunks, and a third boy. 

"It's come down to our four finalists! Only one will win the prize money and get a special chance to fight Mr. Satan! Let's give it up for Trunks, Tenshi, Goten and Diego!" 

Diego did not look excited. He seemed far more nervous about getting his butt whooped by any of the three super-powered kids. 

Goten had his fingers crossed and his eyes squeezed shut, praying silently. _Don't put me against Tenshi, don't put me against Tenshi, put her against Trunks and have Trunks win, I wanna actually fight in these last rounds, please please please please please!_

Trunks and Tenshi looked ahead at the announcer's back and at the audience. Tenshi scanned the audience for Gohan, but she hadn't seen him for any of the fights. She hadn't seen Videl either.... She had kind of hoped they'd see at least one of them.... But there was Grandma, shouting encouragements to both her and Goten. And Bulma was beside her, shouting for Trunks. 

Grandpa and Vegeta were further up in the audience alongside Krillin and 18. The sight of them made Tenshi smile. Piccolo and Dende, of course, were very nearby as well. 

"Hey," Trunks said. Tenshi looked over at him. He didn't have his head turned to her, but she could see his eyes were on her. "I hope you and I get to fight today. I really want to see what you're made of." 

Tenshi's smile widened. 

"Same here. I wanna know what all that gravity training did for you. See how it stacks up." 

"Y'know, you could train in the GR, too, if you wanted." 

"I dunno, the tank might not survive the gravity shift." 

"Oh. Well, Mom can build you one that could." 

"True! Yeah, I'd like that!"

"And now!" The announcer spoke into the microphone. "Our final matches are! Son Tenshi versus . . . !" 

Goten scrunched his face up, praying harder than ever. Diego swallowed hard, and Trunks tensed up with anticipation. 

"Trunks Briefs!" the announcer finished. 

"YES!" Goten shouted, pumping his fists into the air. 

"All right!" Trunks and Tenshi said in unison. 

Diego sighed in relief, then looked over at Goten and started to sweat nervously again. 

The announcer, Goten, and Diego left the arena, and Tenshi and Trunks stepped forward and got into fighting stances. 

Goten couldn't stop being happy. 

"Yes yes yes yes yes! I don't have to forfeit!" 

The announcer's eyebrows flew up, and he looked down at Goten. 

"Why would you have to forfeit?" 

Goten gave the announcer a "duh" expression. "Because Gohan would kill me if I hurt her, so fighting her isn't an option, duh! This way, he'll have to kill Trunks instead, and Vegeta would try to stop Gohan, giving Trunks an opening to run and hide. Dad would just cower in the wake of Gohan's temper, and then I'd be - " Goten did his finger across his neck and made a sickly sound to simulate his neck getting sliced open. 

The announcer didn't know what to do with that information. Was he exaggerating? Was this actual facts? Should he get involved in removing children from their homes with the help of child services? He just didn't know. And it was technically not in his job description to do anything. 

Meanwhile, Gohan and Videl had gotten something to eat long ago, and they had been standing just shy of the arena entrance for a while now. Videl held onto Gohan's hand, and they had been hearing the announcer's commentary for a while now without actually seeing anything. 

Videl watched Gohan's face and saw the fear that was there. 

"She's been doing really well. At this rate, she might win. I understand you're scared to watch her get hurt.... But don't you want to see her win?" 

She asked it gently, a little fearful of making him further upset. 

Gohan took a deep breath. 

"I'm - I'm scared she'll get hurt and that I won't be able to do anything about it. But I . . . I'm also scared that I . . . ." 

"That you what?" 

Videl waited patiently. Gohan was a light pink in the face. 

". . . that I was wrong and made her miserable for no good reason...." 

Videl gave his hand a little squeeze. 

"People make mistakes. And you've always had her best interests in mind. From what you've told me . . . letting her go off and do things like this is hard to do. I . . . can't say that I wouldn't have made similar decisions. I'm sure she'll forgive you, if you were wrong...." 

". . . I just wanted to be a good dad...." 

"And you are. Hell, you're the best dad you can be at your age. Trust me, she wants you to see her fight. Even if she loses. Dads can be embarrassing sometimes, but . . . that doesn't mean we don't want them to be there." 

Gohan listened to her, then nodded slowly. 

He took a deep breath, and he took the first step into the stadium. 

Goku and Krillin looked over their shoulders when they heard the footsteps. 

"Hey! Gohan! Just in time! Tenshi and Trunks get to fight first!" Goku said. 

Krillin's eyes went to Gohan and Videl holding hands. He didn't say anything about it, but his eyes lingered there for a while, then he looked up at the two teenager's faces. Videl was looking at Gohan, a little worriedly, and Gohan was looking straight ahead at the arena, looking like he might pass out from nerves. 

"And - begin!" the announcer shouted, throwing his hand down to signal the start of the fight.


	20. Why Does the Lamb Love Gohan So?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trunks vs. Tenshi

Trunks and Tenshi flew at each other, and the immediate clash and throwing of fists was so different from the other fights earlier in the tournament. Even when the other children were evenly matched, it looked nothing like their speed and power. The audience was left with dropped jaws as they witnessed the exact speed and power of these children. The differences in their fighting styles also became evident. Piccolo trained Tenshi to conserve energy and breathe with each movement, to pace herself and keep focused on the internal factors to make decisions on what types of moves to bust out. Vegeta, on the other hand, focused on teaching Trunks to burst with power and speed. Trunks's personality and fighting style had a lot of wiggle room for showing off and pride, while Tenshi's was far more reserved and conservative. 

Not that most of the audience could see those subtle differences, but the Z warriors could tell, and Goku's eyes widened as he watched his granddaughter and Trunks go head-to-head. 

"Wow! Piccolo really worked with her! Man, she couldn't have been training for longer than, what, a few months? And she's already this strong!" 

"And her form's really good!" Krillin remarked, jaw dropping. "I had thought - well, I had thought she'd never really get to do more than fast walk everywhere, but she's throwing out those punches and kicks like no body's business!" 

"Her stamina is limited, no matter how well she controls herself, though," Vegeta stated, arms crossed. "Trunks will wear her out soon enough, and he'll win." 

Gohan didn't engage in the commentary. He just kept his eyes on his little girl, teeth grinding together out of nerves. Videl, however, was in awe. 

"I can barely follow them! Wow!" she said. She never wouldn't expected any child to move like that, regardless of disability. 

As predicted, though, Tenshi ended up slowing down sooner than Trunks. So she jumped back away from him in an as energy efficient way as possible, throwing a kick up near Trunks's head. Trunks ducked and dodged it, but he allowed her a few moments to get back and adjust her nasal cannula. 

Her chest was heaving up and down a lot more than his own was, and it wasn't exactly typical for her, either. Trunks frowned and actually stopped entirely, while his previous plan from just a few seconds ago was to continue the attack. 

"You okay?" he asked. Tenshi made some mouth movements as though she was trying to answer, but she ended up just trying to breathe. His frown deepend, then he turned to the announcer. "Hey, can she change out the nose thing for a mask that gives the oxygen to the mouth, too?" 

The announcer paused for a moment, then allowed the pause in the fight. Dende and Piccolo immediately approached Tenshi's side of the arena at that point and helped her get the tank fixed up. 

All three Namekians tried to ignore the mutterings they could hear from the audience. 

"What's the big idea in letting a kid who can't breathe fight in a tournament like this anyway?" 

"It's not like he's gonna win!" 

"How could her father put her in there? It's torturing her!" 

They finished putting her breathing mask on, and she looked up at her Mommy. Piccolo put a hand on her shoulder. 

"If you feel like you can do it, you can. Don't listen to them. They don't get to decide what you can and can't do." 

"And you're the best little girl in the whole world, and we'll love you no matter what the outcome," Dende added, knowing the misgendering was bothering her. 

Dende nodded, not really able to speak once the mask was on, then turned away from them and went back into the center of the ring where Trunks was. 

Trunks gave her a nonverbal cue, asking if she was good to go. She nodded in return, and then they started back up. 

The comments in the audience never stopped, though. For as many exclamations of awe and excitement and enjoyment of the fight, there were just as many verbalized doubts of Tenshi's ability, of Tenshi's place in the tournament, of her gender. She could hear all of it, even while focusing on fighting Trunks, matching punch for punch and kick for kick. The comments and words were starting to color Tenshi's perceptions of choices Trunks was making in the fight. For instance, she noticed that he had stopped aiming for her head entirely since she put the mask on. 

In a regular sparring session in private or on any other day, she wouldn't have given a single thought to it, but now, with all the doubt swirling in the stadium, it made her angry. She couldn't even really articulate to herself why it made her angry, but she knew it was different from before, different from how he'd fight Goten, different from how he'd fight his father in the gravity room, and she didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream. 

She was losing stamina again, though the mask kept her able to catch her breath, and at this rate, she would lose and prove all of them right. 

She was so consumed with her own anger that she failed to notice that Trunks had worn himself out from showing off ability earlier and was also losing steam. 

All she could focus on was the doubt and insistent words in the crowd that kept saying she couldn't do it, and she had truly never felt more angry in her life. She felt attacked and threatened in ways she never had when exploring in the woods and getting chased by dinosaurs. 

She was so angry, she could scream, and that's exactly what she ended up doing. 

She still wore the breathing mask, but she screamed out loud and hard, her breath fogging up her mask. As she screamed, an influx of power surged through her body and radiated from her body enough to push Trunks backwards and dent the arena floor. The aura emitting from her was a bright yellow, but her physical appearance didn't change much, due to not having any hair.... But the Z warriors could feel the shift in power, and they all stared in near horrified awe as Tenshi went Super Saiyan. 

"Wh-what!? But - why? What's making her do that!?" Krillin asked. "I thought you had to be really angry in order to go Super Saiyan!" 

"Wh-what's a Super Saiyan?" Videl asked, and Krillin immediately wished he hadn't said anything. 

Tenshi's new-found level of power had no consequences. For about ten seconds. 

Her scream ended abruptly as she coughed up blood, the purple color splattering across her breathing mask. 

Everything that happened next happened too fast. Tenshi realized she didn't have much time to win the match, and she decided to break her promise to Mommy. She lunged at Trunks, throwing everything she had left at him. Trunks, amazed by the power she had unleashed, had just barely seen the blood now covering the inside of Tenshi's breathing mask before she started punching and kicking like crazy. He mostly blocked it, but he got a knee to her gut in. 

That made her keel over and more blood flew out of her mouth. She hit the arena floor, hugging her stomach area and ripping her mask off. Purple blood spat from her mouth as she coughed, and coughing led to vomiting. It wasn't a lot of vomit, but it was still purple and blood. 

She couldn't hear much else other than the announcer starting to freak out and make an executive decision to just put the whole fight on hold and deliberate on what to do about the tournament later. Dende quickly went to her side. 

She could also hear Mommy's voice. "Sweetheart, you have to let go of the Super Saiyan form, you _have_ to." He was having trouble sounding calm, and that scared her. Part of her was still in a desperate bid to win the fight, but that part of her was quickly being overcome by the fearful part of her that was scared about what this meant for her. 

Was . . . was she gonna die? 

Piccolo, Dende, and the tournament paramedics got Tenshi off the arena floor and to the medical room. 

Gohan stared in horror as his daughter coughed up and vomited blood. As she was carried away, he let go of Videl's hand, stepped up onto the railing, pushed off, then flew like a bullet down into the arena area, touched down on the ground, then ran after them. 

"TENSHI!" he called after them, quickly catching up to Piccolo and Dende. 

Goku didn't fly, but he teleported to where Chichi was, grabbed her shoulder, then teleported them to where the medical room would be. Goten went after his family, but Trunks stayed where he stood, as though frozen, eyes wide and his shoes splattered with Tenshi's blood.


	21. The Eager Children Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Tenshi make it?

Tenshi lay on the medical room bed, hooked up to a machine to help her breathe. It was dusty and clearly wasn't used very often. It had been a long time since they had needed to use it, apparently. Everything about it was also adult-sized, not quite fitting her, but they didn't have much of a choice right now. 

"We - we should probably get her to a hospital?" One of the medics asked. 

Dende hovered over her, shaking his head. 

"She won't make it if we do. She doesn't heal on her own, she wouldn't make it if I wasn't here focusing on here, and the doctors there would make me leave." 

"But the breathing machine - " 

"Goku, find a child-sized one!" 

"Gotcha!" Goku then teleported away. He was gone for about fifteen minutes, then returned with one that they then set up. 

Tenshi's body was still thrumming with power. She didn't know how to turn it off. She was scared, and that made the Super Saiyan form insistent on staying. But she could also feel it tear up her from the inside, and cuts were materializing on her skin now. The form was destroying her body, and that scared her more. Which made the Super Saiyan form stay. It was a catch-22, and she tasted blood in her mouth, and _oh god she was going to die._

She was too scared to care about anything like pride. She let her tears roll down her face, and she gripped onto Piccolo's hand tightly. 

"Mommy?" Blood dribbled from her mouth as she spoke. She could tell that Mommy was just as scared as she was, and that made her even more scared. 

She could feel Dende's healing magic cover her, but her body was getting torn up and destroyed just as quickly as Dende could heal it. 

"You have to power down, Tenshi, it's the only way we'll be able to heal you all up." 

"I - I don't know how - " And she coughed, blood flying from her mouth. The cannula they had stuffed into her nose to keep the mask from getting bloody suddenly couldn't get air into her nostrils. She pulled it out, against the adults' advice, but they soon saw that more blood had stuffed into the holes, making it impossible to use. 

Despite moving to a machine that didn't need to be refilled, keeping air in her lungs was still going to be a battle. 

"Tenshi!" 

"D-daddy?" It was getting harder to talk. But Daddy appeared in her view, and he reached out for her other hand. He squeezed it gently, and she could see the devastation in his face. Her tears mixed with her blood. 

"She can't drop the Super Saiyan form," Dende said. 

Gohan looked at Tenshi for a long moment, then brought his other hand over and gently rubbed the top of her head. 

"Dad, get to the house and get her Rainbow Dash toy, her blanket, and that CD player with the headphones, okay?" 

Goku blinked a few times, then said, "Uh, okay," then teleported again. Goku only took about five minutes this time to gather all those items, then appear back in the medical room. 

Gohan took the materials and, keeping in mind to not get in Dende's way, carefully cleaned Tenshi up some, then wrapped her My Little Pony blanket around her and gave her her stuffed animal to hug tightly. Then he fitted the headphones over her ears and pressed the play button on the CD player. He then put his hand back atop her head and managed to smile at her. 

"Daddy's right here, and everything's gonna be okay now. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you." 

Tenshi needed the volume on the CD player to be low due to her hearing, but the music drowned out the sounds of the medical beeping. She also could read Gohan's lips a little bit, and his words comforted her. She felt safe in her blanket and with her toy and with the MLP soundtrack gently playing in her ears. 

She finally powered down, though she wasn't sure how she did it. She just felt safe now.... 

Tenshi fell asleep, but Dende sighed in relief. 

"Okay. I should be able to get her back to as good as new now. Is there a clean oxygen mask? We can fit her with that instead of the cannula." 

"How long do you think it'll take?" Gohan asked. 

"A few hours." 

Gohan nodded, then pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. 

"Consider me withdrawn from the tournament, then. I'm staying right here and looking after her. And she's not fighting again after this. No way." 

The tournament staff that was there took note, and one of them went to tell the announcer. 

No one fought him on that. In fact.... 

"Agreed. She should rest," Piccolo said, still holding onto her little hand. 

The news was communicated to the announcer, and the announcer shared the news with Trunks and the audience. 

"Son Tenshi has survived her sudden medical emergency! They managed to stop the bleeding and she's healing as we speak! Due to her condition, however, she will not be continuing in the tournament. So by default, Trunks Briefs shall continue on in the tournament and fight the winner of the Goten vs. Diego match!" 

Trunks ran up to the announcer. "Can I see her?" 

"Uh.... You'll have to ask the medical staff, but you can go back there if you want." 

Trunks then ran from the arena to the building. 

The announcer wasn't finished though. 

"Due to his daughter's condition, Son Gohan has withdrawn from the adult division and will stay by his daughter's side. Since Son Tenshi is Goten's . . . uh . . . family, we'll give a thirty minute break before starting the next match!" 

Despite knowing that Tenshi was going to be okay, Trunks's eyes widened at just how much blood was on the bed sheets and medical equipment. And it was still on his shoes.... He found Goten and went to his side. 

"Hey. Do you know what happened?" 

"Uh, well.... Apparently she went Super Saiyan.... And I guess her body couldn't handle it...." 

"But why? Why right then?" 

"I dunno...." 

". . . Was it . . . something I did?" 

Goten's eyes widened, and he stared at Trunks for a while. 

"You . . . think it might be?" 

"I . . . I dunno...." But he felt guilty. He felt . . . like this was somehow his fault. 

Gohan wasn't blaming Trunks at all, though. It might've been something Goten had feared, but he didn't. 

No. Gohan blamed Piccolo. The anger at the Namekian was bubbling in the pit of his stomach, but the relief that his daughter would live cooled it temporarily. But he was making a resolution. He just needed a plan.


	22. Why, Gohan Loves the Lamb So, The Teacher Did Reply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you weren't expecting Majin Buu.

The fight between Trunks and Goten did occur, but Gohan didn't go to watch it. Neither did Piccolo. They sat in silence on either side of their daughter's bed. The only other person with them was Dende. He didn't leave until he was confident that Tenshi would live and was all healed back up. But she stayed asleep. Despite Namekians not sleeping, with her being a fourth human and a fourth Saiyan, it made sense that, what with the ordeal she had just gone through, that she'd be asleep for the first time since . . . probably the very first days on this planet. 

Piccolo didn't know what to say. Gohan knew what he wanted to say, but chose to hold his tongue. They could hear the tournament goings-on from the speakers. Trunks ended up winning the tournament, but no one really cared. With both Trunks and Goten worried about Tenshi, it didn't sound like either of them were really fighting at their best, and no one really blamed them. Trunks ultimately turned down the chance to fight Mr. Satan in the ring because he didn't want to wait any longer to check up on Tenshi. Mr. Satan made a bit of a show of allowing him to forgo the opportunity. 

Gohan's eye twitched. Was that jerk trying to use his daughter's _near-death experience_ to further his damn image? He tightened his fists, which were sitting atop of his knees. 

He saw the CD player flashing, and he moved to take the headphones off of Tenshi's head and to turn the CD player off. He set the player on the table beside Tenshi, then sat back down. He was gentle with the invention, since he knew that while they could always buy a new player, Tenshi would be upset if the disc inside got damaged. She loved the My Little Pony soundtrack, especially "Winter Wrap Up" and "Art of the Dress." 

He could hear the announcer talk about the start of the adult division, and he pointedly did not look in Piccolo's direction. He knew Piccolo could hear it too. 

Piccolo shifted in his chair a bit, clearly hesitating. 

"Go ahead," Gohan said. 

Piccolo looked over at Gohan, but Gohan kept his eyes on Tenshi. Who couldn't hear them at all. 

"Go on. Go fight. That's all that's important to you, anyway." 

His words were cold and bitter, sharp. Cutting and biting with the anger that he felt that was now a cold, hard rock in his stomach. 

Piccolo stared at him, eyes wide. Gohan refused to let himself think about how Piccolo must've been feeling right then. If he did, he'd regret having said it, and he didn't want to regret. He wanted punishment. 

His little girl almost died, and it was all Piccolo's fault. Gohan had been right. She can't fight. She can't survive battle. Keeping her inside and protecting her from fighting had been the right choice. _Gohan had been right._ And Piccolo ignored what he wanted for their daughter and put her here. It's _Piccolo's fault she was here_. 

"G-Gohan - " 

Gohan finally looked up at Piccolo, and the glare that he gave him took any words that Piccolo was about to say right out of his mouth. 

It was quiet for a while longer, then Piccolo stood up. Gohan went back to looking at Tenshi. 

"Goku will probably win, but there is a second money prize. The family will benefit from it. So if both Goku and I win - " 

"Vegeta's stronger than you," Gohan said, bitingly. "I give it a 30% chance if it comes down to you and him and Dad." 

That made Piccolo tense, ball his own hands into fists. 

Piccolo then left, leaving Gohan and Tenshi alone. 

Gohan counted down, then stood up and went to look for who he needed to speak with. He found him easily enough. 

Gohan grabbed Mr. Satan's arm and dragged him into the medical room without getting spotted by the others fairly easily. Mr. Satan started to object to getting grabbed, but when he saw who it was, he let Gohan drag him into the medical room. Gohan shut the door behind them. 

There was a security camera in the room, but Gohan wasn't worried about that. 

"How can I help you? Uh, Gohan, right?" 

"Right. You also know me by another identity." 

"Huh? I do?" 

Gohan controlled his power - and his anger - for if he let it get out of control, everyone was in deep shit. But he controlled it, and he went Super Saiyan to show Mr. Satan who he was. Mr. Satan's eyes widened in realization. 

"Y-you're that kid! The Cell Games kid!" 

"That's right. And all this prestige you have - with the tournament and how the city and world love you and all that - you basically stole that from me. Didn't you?" 

"H-hey wait - ! See here - !" 

Gohan lifted a hand to shush him, and Mr. Satan did just that. 

"I'm not interested in it. Or at least, I wasn't. I was, you know, too busy raising an infant to give two shits what you were saying on TV." 

Mr. Satan's eyes went to Tenshi in the medical bed, then back to Gohan. 

"What are you getting at?" 

Gohan crossed his arms. 

"You owe me. I'm cashing in the favor." 

"O-okay.... What do you need from me?" 

Gohan communicated with Mr. Satan what he wanted, and at first, Mr. Satan refused. 

"No way! That's against my moral grounds! Can't do it!" 

"Are you sure? What if I told the world the truth?" 

"Oh - oh yeah? Well - who'd believe you? So you got the blonde spikey hair - anybody could fix that up!" 

"The crowd out there saw me fly. And Videl was with me in the crowd." 

That made Mr. Satan pause. 

"I wonder how Videl would feel if she knew her father was a fraud." 

"You - you wouldn't dare - !" 

"It doesn't really matter if the whole world believes me or not, as long as your daughter does. And she would, I think. She's my friend after all, and I've shown her that I can harness energy balls and fly. I'm the right age. It'd make sense to a smart girl like her, wouldn't it?" 

Mr. Satan gritted his teeth, and Gohan stood his ground. He was getting what he wanted out of him. He felt a little guilty using Videl like that against him, but what choices did he have? He couldn't do it by himself, and Mr. Satan was the only one with the money who wasn't connected to his dad that he knew. It may have been blackmail, but it also made him invested in helping him. 

"All right, all right, I'll help." 

Gohan smirked. "Good. You'll probably want to do something with the security camera footage, so no one knows we had this conversation. And you can handle the rest." 

"Right...." 

Gohan and Mr. Satan worked out the details, then the man left to make the necessary calls, and Gohan had the address he needed. 

The adult division worked out who was going to be fighting who in the tournament, then Piccolo went back to check on Tenshi and Gohan. 

The medical room was completely empty with no sign of Tenshi and Gohan when he arrived.


	23. Hush Little Baby

Piccolo's brain was working too fast, his heart was pounding, and he couldn't focus, couldn't breathe. Despite standing still, it was like the world was going at the speed of light around him, and he couldn't catch up. 

His daughter was missing. His daughter was _gone_. The adult division was temporarily on hold while the tournament staff worked on putting together a search party and looking at the security footage, but the tournament wouldn't be on pause for long. Chichi and Goku were on either side of him, Chichi taking the reins with talking to tournament staff and security. Goku held Goten in his arms, eyebrows furrowed and mouth frowning. Piccolo couldn't focus, couldn't hear himself think - didn't think he _could_ think - over the noise and chaos. 

Tenshi's ki signal had been so low that he hadn't noticed it had moved and he couldn't feel her anywhere in the radius he had for it, and she wasn't there, she wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere. 

"-iccolo?" 

He could barely hear Goku over the noise both in his own head and around him, despite the man being right next to him. 

"Are you okay?" 

He felt Goku's hand on his shoulder, and that made Piccolo turn his head towards him. Goku's face was the most concerned and . . . youthful than he had ever seen it. It betrayed just how uncertain Goku felt about the situation, about what was happening and how Piccolo was feeling and what he should even do. 

"You're just staring off and crying...." 

Piccolo slowly lifted a hand to his face and touched his cheek and felt the wetness he hadn't realized was dripping down his face. 

"Of course he's not okay, Goku, his _child_ is missing," Chichi said firmly, but not loudly. She laid a hand on Piccolo's bicep, and Piccolo turned his head to look at her. 

He had never seen the woman look more empathic towards anything aside from Gohan's early exhaustion with taking care of an infant. 

He suddenly realized she must have felt this way when he had kidnapped Gohan for training when he was just four years old. She must've felt this detached from her surroundings, this panicked, this distraught. 

"We'll find her, no matter what. I won't rest until we do." 

Piccolo nodded, trying to get his wits about him again. 

He realized that Krillin and 18 were also helping, and Vegeta was leaning against the wall with Trunks at his side. Vegeta's face exposed nothing, but Trunks was clinging to his father's leg, and Vegeta's hand was atop of his head. Both Goten and Trunks were near tears, just as he was. Their best friend was missing, and it was terrifying to them. 

". . . Do we know where Gohan is?" Goku asked after a while. 

"I don't sense him in the area. He seems to be suppressing his ki," Vegeta spoke up, not moving from his position against the wall. 

"Yeah, I don't sense him either," Krillin said, moving closer to Piccolo, Goku, Chichi, and Goten. 

"Then . . . maybe there's nothing to worry about? I mean, surely Gohan's with her. Or she's with him.... If they're together, what's the problem?" Goku asked. 

Krillin frowned a bit. "Yeah, but what if they're not? What if Gohan booked it to look for her? What if she's been kidnapped?" 

18 was carrying Marron - it seemed everyone else had made sure their own children were with them before congregating there - as she approached them. 

"What if they are together, but she's still kidnapped?" 18 asked. 

Everyone looked at her. 

"Huh?" Goku asked. 

"What d'ya mean, 18?" Krillin said. 

"Well.... He was angry, wasn't he?" 18 said, her face exhibiting no emotion as per usual. 

Goten at that point spoke up. "Why would Gohan take her away? They're family! They wouldn't leave us!" 

"I'm not saying it would be nice of him or anything, but he's an angry parent whose child almost died. If he blames the tournament or Piccolo or fighting in general, it would make sense if he chose to take her as far away from the cause as possible," 18 explained. 

"So - so they could just be at home!" Goten said, turning around in Goku's arms to stare up at his father. "They can be at home and we'll see them later, and Gohan's just so mad he didn't want to tell anybody! They're not missing, they're at home! Right? Right, Dad?" 

Piccolo lifted his head and looked at Goku, and he could see that Goku had no idea what to say. 

"I . . . I dunno, Goten, but . . . we can go look? I mean . . . I can teleport, so if we calculate how long it'll take Gohan to get from here to there.... I can teleport at that time and we can check . . . ? But then I don't know how to do that kind of math...." 

"From here to the house by flight is at least four hours, and in Tenshi's condition, moving her with just his arms to carry her isn't practical or good for her health," Chichi said, frowning. "He wouldn't risk that." 

"And we don't even know for sure if Gohan _is_ with her or not," Krillin said. "Though at this point, it's a good guess, or he'd be freaking out with us or we'd at least sense his ki, unless. . . ." 

"Unless something really bad happened...." Piccolo finished for Krillin, still unable to really engage with what was happening around him. Both Gohan and Tenshi were gone. They were no where to be found. Their ki signals were nonexistent. 

His world was gone.


	24. Don't Say A Word

When Tenshi awoke, she knew it was unfamiliar surroundings, but it took her a while to realize that it wasn't unfamiliar in that it must've been the medical ward. No, it was unfamiliar in that she had absolutely no idea where she was. 

She had expected the medical room at the tournament or a hospital. She vaguely remembered being taken there. But this . . . was definitely not a hospital room. 

Surrounding her were all her items from her room and the school room from home. Her paints and art paper and pencils. Her stuffed animals and clothes. Her CD player and blankets. A TV was against the wall, and it was hovering on the Netflix streaming home page with a list of the different genres that were available for streaming. 

Tenshi felt sore and achy all over, but she sat up and looked around the room. Her breathing mask was sitting on her face, and she moved it so that she could fit in the nasal cannula instead. She was laying on a very soft mattress with her circus-printed bedsheets and was wrapped up in her My Little Pony blanket. 

This was not her room, though. It was bigger, and she could tell that the furniture was more than what they could afford. There was a fancy chandelier hanging from the ceiling, fixed with light bulbs that were lighting up the room. 

She had never seen this place before, and she wondered where she was. And where her mommy and daddy and Grandpa and Grandma were. And where Trunks and Goten were and which of them won the tournament. Was the tournament over? What was going on? 

She crawled off the bed, then walked around the room. 

She found Daddy easily enough. He was laying on the couch, fast asleep it looked like. She went over to him and poked him in the shoulder. He was still wearing his martial arts uniform, so the tournament couldn't have been over.... Could it? 

Daddy stirred, and Tenshi kept poking him until he fully woke up. 

Daddy's eyes opened all the way, and he seemed to realize that she was awake. He sat up and rubbed at the sleep in his eyes. 

"Hey, darling. Did you sleep well? How are you feeling? Do you feel any pain?" Daddy asked. 

"I'm all right. Just sore." Tenshi answered. "Daddy, where are we?" 

Daddy sat up straighter, then picked Tenshi up and set her in his lap. Daddy yawned a bit, then seemed to be figuring out the best way to describe what he wanted to say. 

"We're where you and I are going to be living for a while. It's a very nice place where we don't have to spend money on anything, and we have someone who will take care of everything, even your oxygen tank refills, and everything's going to be safe and fine and there won't be anything to worry about." 

Tenshi furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. 

"And where's that? Who's paying for stuff? Where're Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Goten?" 

Daddy avoided answering the first two questions. 

"They're not here." 

"Why not?" 

"Because Daddy is angry with Mommy for letting you fight." 

Tenshi pouted. 

"I wanted to fight! I promised Mommy that I wouldn't push myself too hard, and he let me fight, and training is fun!" 

Daddy raised an eyebrow at Tenshi. 

"Oh? You promised you wouldn't push yourself too hard?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Then what was that in the ring?" 

Tenshi hesitated, her pout melting away to be replaced with a look of uncertainty. 

"Going Super Saiyan is an incredible feat. One that's spurred on by anger and pain, in combination with extreme training. Then going Super Saiyan caused your insides to explode, and you kept trying to fight Trunks anyway. I'd call that pushing myself too hard, wouldn't you?" 

Tenshi bowed her head, knowing that Daddy was right and she hadn't kept her promise to Mommy. 

"Yeah, but.... But all those people thought I couldn't do it! They kept saying mean things and I could hear them even if they thought I couldn't, and I - I just got so mad! And I wanted to prove them wrong, even though I knew what was happening when I went Super Saiyan was bad for me.... You can understand that, can't you?" 

She looked back up at Daddy, silently begging him to understand where she was coming from and not forbid her from fighting ever again. It was just an accident! 

"But you _can't_ do it. You were never supposed to be in that tournament, you weren't supposed to be training. You were supposed to be in the stands with your grandmother and cheer with the rest of them." 

_But you can't do it._ That felt like a sharp stab in the gut, and tears gathered in Tenshi's eyes as the anger and pain bubbled in her stomach again. But it fizzled out into just sadness, and she sniffed. 

Gohan put his arms around her and hugged her. 

"I'm sorry." No he wasn't, Tenshi knew he wasn't. "You had gotten so invested in it, and I know it's hard to hear. But not everyone can fight, and you're too fragile for it." 

Tears were rolling down Tenshi's face. "I got into the finals! I was one of the last four to make it before Trunks and Goten's fight! And I could've won! I could've! I could've won the whole thing!" 

Gohan didn't say anything, but Tenshi knew what he was thinking. _But you didn't._ And knowing that made her cry, and Daddy held her while she cried, and she cried until she started coughing from how much she was crying. 

Eventually Gohan put something on the Netflix, and Tenshi heard the My Little Pony theme start to play. She tried to catch her breath and slid out of Gohan's lap to sit on the couch and watch. Gohan got up and grabbed Tenshi's favorite blanket and stuffed animal and let her hold the toy while he wrapped her up in the blanket. 

"Do you want to be alone for a while?" Gohan asked. 

Tenshi nodded, then Gohan went to a corner of the room and took out his school books to study. He left her alone for quite a while, though Tenshi, after watching her fifth episode of My Little Pony, started to wonder if they were . . . _only_ going to be using this room and none of the rest of the building. 

There was a ding, startling Tenshi, and Gohan got up and went to a door on the wall and opened it. It was a dumbwaiter. He pulled out what apparently was what Gohan would be eating for dinner and Tenshi's mineral water. 

Tenshi watched as Gohan took the food to where he had set up his studying, then turned to look at the television again. 

Were they in some kind of horror movie? Just where were they, anyway?


	25. Papa's Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird

The adult division continued without Piccolo. He couldn't do it. Not while Tenshi was missing. 

Chichi had taken Goku aside and asked him not to continue with the tournament, not now that their son and granddaughter were missing. But the man couldn't seem to take himself out of the opportunity to fight. 

Goten stared at Goku's retreating back, an odd feeling coming over him as he watched his father just . . . ignore his mother and Piccolo and him to go fight. 

If the argument that they needed the money was a valid one, Chichi wouldn't be using it as an afterthought to try to make herself feel better about Goku's decision. 

Goten was smart, even if Trunks was better at school lessons than him. He was empathetic and could understand how people felt better than Trunks or Tenshi, though he didn't quite realize it. 

He didn't really know it right then, but the emotion he was feeling could be described as "appalled" or "disturbed" by Goku's choice to put the tournament before the rest. 

But he was only six years old, and he couldn't understand his own feelings on the matter very well. Looking back on these events, while staring up at the ceiling with a brain that refused to shut up, he'd remember how he'd felt and put the right words to what he was feeling, and it would sit just as poorly with him then as it did now. 

Even 18 and Krillin discussed amongst themselves if one or both should drop out to help Piccolo and Chichi, and Krillin decided he would drop out as well to help. 18 stayed in the tournament, assuring him that she'd meet up with them as soon as she was done to help search for Tenshi. 

Vegeta said nothing about it and made no plans to drop out of the tournament. Videl stayed in the tournament as well, though it was also clear that the situation wasn't sitting right with her at all. But she knew that the tournament staff was helping them look for Tenshi, and she'd help as soon as she was able, like 18. 

If Tenshi was with Gohan, she at least wasn't in any danger, Videl thought. 

Mr. Satan made some big announcements throughout the day about the tournament staff's efforts to locate Tenshi and Gohan - who everyone knew was missing by this point - but it wasn't until after the tournament (Mr. Satan faked a stomach ache when he encountered Vegeta, and Videl unfortunately didn't stand as much of a chance as she thought against 18. Goku and Vegeta fought in the final round. The outcome was the inverse of their children's - Goku won the prize money and Vegeta was given the second-place, though his pride was injured.) that Videl realized that perhaps she shouldn't have trusted the tournament staff as much as she had.... 

"What do you _mean_ you're missing security camera footage!?" Videl shouted at them in a back room, alone with the security team, her father, and the announcer in a back room with security monitors. 

The security guard trembled in the presence of her temper, but he stood his ground. 

"All the tapes have assigned numbers to them. The one that was recording the events in the medical room for the second half of today is missing entirely and was replaced by the tape that was supposed to replace it after the tournament. From what we can tell, the camera had the tape replaced, then was turned back on for recording _after_ the culprit who took the tape had left the room. Meaning that person would need access to this room to remotely control the camera." 

"What about the other cameras? Is there any footage of Gohan or someone unauthorized coming in here to control the camera?" Videl asked, starting to grasp at straws. 

"No, ma'am. Everyone who entered this room was authorized personel." 

"Then - then one of our own is responsible for this! Who the hell would kidnap an injured little girl!?" 

"I don't know, Miss Videl, but we'll get to the bottom of it. Investigate every single employee if we have to." 

"You better! I want her and her dad found, okay!?" 

Videl then stormed out of the security room, planning on checking on their progress later. 

Mr. Satan remained in the security room, then let out a sigh. 

"Oh man, this really bites!" 

"M-Mr. Satan, I don't understand. Why are we covering this up? And why is this happening in the first place? And - and where _did_ the tape go?" 

"Never mind all that, I'll deal with it. Just make sure people know we're investigating and working with the police while keeping our backsides clean!" 

"Y-yes sir...." 

A second security guard who had stayed quiet during the exchange spoke up. "Uh, Mr. Satan, sir. The little girl is okay, isn't she?" 

"She's perfectly safe with her daddy, nothing bad is gonna happen to her, I promise." Mr. Satan said. 

The first security guard made a face. "Are we sure it's a girl? I mean, the medic did comment that it certainly didn't have - " 

Mr. Satan rounded on the security guard. "If she says she's a girl, she's a girl, got it!?" The last thing Mr. Satan needed was for Gohan to hear that people were disrespecting his daughter. He was terrified of the teenager with the glowing yellow hair and aura. He did _not_ want to die or have his image ruined! 

"Y-Yes sir!" 

Meanwhile, the Sons and their friends went to the Son home, only to discover that someone had been in their house. Goku, Chichi, Piccolo, Goten, Krillin, 18, Marron, Vegeta, Trunks, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, Oolong, and Master Roshi turned the house upside down, looking for everything that had been taken, but no such luck. 

All of Tenshi's things had been taken. Her paints, her clothes, her blankets and toys. Her books and school things. Her air tank reserve. Everything was gone. 

Piccolo was ripping the house apart, seemingly losing more and more sanity as he did so until Chichi reached out to him and wrapped her arms around him. 

Goten and Trunks watched as Piccolo broke down. The majority of the adults turned their heads away as Piccolo started to sob, knowing that the proud Namekian wouldn't want them to watch him cry like this. Goku, however, watched with a frown, bowing his head and trying to think of something they could do. 

At this point, everyone was at a loss, but no one wanted to leave the Sons by themselves, not with two of their members missing and with no ki signals to lock onto. 

Goten and Trunks shared Goten's bed. The room he shared with Tenshi felt so empty without Tenshi and her things. He curled up next to Trunks, and Trunks didn't even make a fuss about how he was only doing it because Goten wanted the comfort. Trunks wrapped the blanket around them and tucked his head in, putting them into a little ball of limbs and fluffy blankets and a pillow. But neither of them could sleep, and they knew Piccolo wasn't asleep either. He couldn't be. Namekians didn't sleep. 

"I want Gohan and Tenshi back home," Goten mumbled, rubbing his cheek against the pillow. 

Trunks didn't say anything for a moment. 

". . . I'm sorry." 

Goten lifted his head a little so he could look at his friend. Trunks's eyes were pricking with tears a little bit. 

"It's my fault. If I . . . if I had picked up on her injury sooner, she wouldn't have . . . then she wouldn't have had to go to the medical room and . . . ." Trunks said, sniffing. 

Goten shook his head. "That's not your fault. It happened really fast. There was just . . . blood everywhere. . . . before anyone could really tell what happened. There's no way you would've known she was hurt before that happened." 

A tear rolled down Trunks's face, crossing over the bridge of his nose to drip onto the pillow case. 

Meanwhile, Piccolo was checking the wastelands and wilderness near the house and the places he and Gohan frequented a lot as Gohan grew older, just in case they were there. He was the only one still aware and he couldn't stand meditating right now, and he was the only one who knew where all the places were. Just sitting there not doing anything to find her was torture. 

He didn't find them anywhere. 

When Piccolo came back to the house, it was four in the morning, and Goten had rolled out of bed away from a (finally) asleep Trunks and pitter-pattered down the stairs in his bare feet. Piccolo looked over at him, eyes red and voice hoarse from shouting for his daughter. 

"Need anything?" Piccolo asked, wondering why the six-year-old was still awake. 

Goten stepped up to Piccolo and tugged on Piccolo's cape. 

"I want someone else to be with me and Trunks while we sleep." 

Goten was a smart kid. An empathetic kid. 

This way Piccolo could meditate and make sure nothing happened to the remaining children and not be alone in the night with his thoughts. Goten made sure he was covered up with a bit of blanket and was comfortable before curling up beside Trunks once more. Piccolo sat there, criss-cross applesauce, on the bed beside them. He noticed that Trunks had some drying tear stains and gently wiped them off the boy's face. 

The women had the bedroom Chichi and Goku shared, while the men camped in the living room, dead to the world and snoring lightly. Marron was snug in between 18 and Chichi. 

It went on like this for a few days, Bulma and Vegeta taking Trunks back to Capsule Corp the next morning, Bulma saying she could put the Capsule Corp company and money to better use if she was at headquarters, and Krillin and 18 staying with Goku, Chichi, Piccolo, and Goten. There was very little Krillin and 18 could do at Master Roshi's island after all. 

It was days until any headway was made in the search.


	26. If That Mockingbird Don't Sing

As the days went on, Tenshi became a lot less concerned about _where_ they were and a lot more concerned with how _long_ they were going to be there. Though it wasn't fear that was driving her curiosity. 

No. She was getting very, very _bored_. 

She had re-watched all of My Little Pony, what was available for Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab on Netflix, then got bored with the television and worked on her paintings. She drew quite a few renditions of herself in a prison cell. Sometimes she spiced it up and made herself a pirate or something, but mostly she was just sitting there behind bars looking sad. 

She still didn't sleep. So when Gohan was asleep, she had absolutely no one to interact with. 

And the door to the room was locked. From the outside. 

There was a bathroom to the left of the television, but that was it. If it wasn't for the dumbwaiter, Gohan and Tenshi would've died from starvation and dehydration. And even then, the portions were regular human-sized. Not Saiyan-sized. Tenshi was honestly half waiting for Gohan to snap from hunger, change his mind about staying in this room, and just bust them out of here and head home for Grandma's cooking. 

But no. They just sat there. In the one room. Daddy reading his books or playing with her or watching TV with her and sometimes getting so bored he by default did some training, like push-ups and sit-ups. Easy things that could be done just on the floor and didn't cause too much ruckus. 

Tenshi, of course, wasn't allowed to. Which made their time in this stupid room all the more frustrating. 

She couldn't see the outside. She couldn't go anywhere. Daddy was _choosing_ not to go anywhere. 

This was so _boring!_

And she missed Mommy. And Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Goten and Trunks and Bulma and Videl. She missed her friends and family so much. 

Gohan, on the other hand, was going through a bit of a rollercoaster with how he felt about the situation he himself put them in. On the one hand . . . this was really boring. And he did miss his mother and father and little brother. And Piccolo.... But every time he remembered Piccolo, he got angry again, and that helped fuel his resolve to stay exactly where they were. 

They were safe in this room, where no one knew where they were aside from Mr. Satan. They had food and water and a place to sleep and plenty of things to keep Tenshi occupied. 

Never mind that they were both starting to go a little stir-crazy from being locked up in doors for too long. 

Never mind that he knew he wasn't getting enough food, but he didn't want it to be too suspicious to Mr. Satan and his staff about his food intake. He'd deal.

His stomach protested this notion quite a lot, growling uncomfortably and even aching at times. 

Tenshi had half a hope that they'd get to go outside - even if they didn't leave - if Daddy had to go to school. But the weekdays came and Gohan stayed in the room. 

The dumbwaiter dinged at the end of each weekday, and Gohan pulled out papers and even the occasional booklet. Tenshi, while Gohan slept, saw that they were school assignments. 

On the fourth day, Tenshi was absolutely fed up. 

Gohan jolted away as he heard Tenshi let out a terrifying scream and looked around, his eyes focusing and landing on the little Namekian. Tenshi was throwing herself against the door, shoulder first and banging her head as she did so, and she did this repeatedly. Gohan launched himself out of the bed and grabbed her, and she screamed and yelled, reaching for the door. Her nails scratched the wood, little splinters appearing and threatening to get stuck under her nails. 

Gohan pulled her away from the door and held onto her tightly until she stopped struggling. 

Tenshi had to take deep breaths with her face mask as opposed to her nasal cannula, and the tears started flowing again. 

But that was when she heard a voice over an intercom. 

"Are you all right?!" Mr. Satan's voice asked over the intercom. Gohan went over to the wall and pressed a button Tenshi hadn't realized was there because it was the same color as the wall and she hadn't been looking for it. But now that she knew where it was, it was rather obvious it was there. 

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine. Um, Mr. Satan, sir, we're fine on her oxygen refills for now but...." 

"Oh. Oh, yeah, I see. We'll work on that. Are you sure you're okay? We heard screaming." 

"We're fine." 

Gohan then took his finger off the button and sighed, leaning against the wall. Clearly tired. 

Tenshi frowned deeply. What the heck did Mr. Satan have to do with any of this? 

Gohan waited for Tenshi to ask about Videl. He was tense over it, not ready for that line of questioning. 

But it never came. 

It was only then that Gohan realized that Tenshi didn't know that Videl was Mr. Satan's daughter. He realized that there was no real reason for her to know that information. Videl had only ever said she and her father fought in the Tenkaichi Budokai together and that her father owned a gym. She never told her that her father was "the" Mr. Satan. 

The relief that came over Gohan when he realized this made him start to laugh, and that made Tenshi look up at Gohan with a concerned expression on her face. Was he losing it? The last thing she needed was for Daddy to go crazy. 

Though, she had to admit, when you were _stuck in this stupid room_ , going crazy would probably be easy. 

The fifth day came, and it went. Tenshi was doing the same old stuff. Watching TV. Reading books. Painting pictures. Listening to her CDs. It was the same stuff over and over and over again with only Daddy to talk to and no training and no playing with Trunks or Goten and it was _so boring._ She was starting to lose hope that they'd ever leave. She was even starting to doubt that the sky and sun still existed and that all that existed anymore was this stupid room. 

She wished she could sleep. It would make this go by so much faster. Sleep would be a fantastic thing to happen right now. 

Tenshi was so preoccupied with the fact that time seemed to go so slowly and that they were stuck in this room for what seemed like forever that she actually neglected to look at the clock and monitor just how long Gohan took to do certain tasks. 

She hadn't noticed that it was starting to take Gohan longer to wake up, longer to do his homework, longer to finish eating. 

Gohan tried to tell himself nothing was wrong, that he was just feeling a little tired due to stress and needing to get used to their new . . . "lifestyle." 

But Gohan wasn't stupid, and he knew he was coming down with a fever. How and from what, he wasn't sure. But he wasn't feeling well, and this was not a good time for that to happen.


	27. Papa's Gonna Buy You a Diamond Ring

It was the sixth day of Tenshi's and Gohan's disappearance when Videl got an odd phone call. It was from the principal at her school. The police and the principal had her personal cell number in case of emergencies, so she was excused from class to go to the principal's office. She sat down across from him, eyebrows furrowed. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. 

The principal pursed his lips, looking uneasy. 

"Son Gohan . . . do you have any idea where he is?" 

It wasn't a secret that he was missing and that the police were looking for him and Tenshi. She shook her head. 

"I'd have alerted the police as soon as I knew something about it, sir." 

The principal nodded. 

"Yes, yes, of course.... I trust you, Videl, but I had to ask since. . . ." 

"Since . . . ?" 

"Well, it's perhaps nothing.... But I just thought it was strange that professors were talking about how confused they were that you were taking your homework assignments in class and also requesting copies to be sent to your home." 

Videl's eyebrows furrowed further. 

"Well, that is strange. Since I haven't been asking for copies...." 

That put Videl on the scent for an explanation. She talked to each of her teachers, and she got an identity for who was actually requesting the copies. 

There was a maid who the school knew worked for Mr. Satan and Videl who had come by the school after school hours to ask for copies of the homework "for Videl." But it couldn't be, because if Videl missed anything in class, Sharpner and Erasa spotted her. And it wasn't until that day that they had all realized that something was amiss. 

But the next day, the school wasn't in session. Which meant that Videl was on her own when it came to investigating. 

Videl went home with Erasa and Sharper, all three of them perplexed by the principal's story. 

"That's so weird. Why would your maid ask for homework copies for you when you didn't ask her to?" Sharpner asked as they sat down in the living room. Erasa grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, then switched to Videl's Netflix. They often played the TV in the background when they studied together. 

"I didn't know you watched little kids' cartoons, Videl," Erasa remarked. 

"I don't," Videl said, but she looked up at the television and saw that regardless of her viewing preferences, there was countless kids' cartoons listed in the "Recommended for You" list and a lot of "Because You Watched My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" and "Because You Watched Powerpuff Girls." Videl hadn't watched Powerpuff Girls since she was a little kid.... 

"But you know who does watch little kids' shows?" Videl asked, standing up. Homework could wait. 

"Who?" Sharper asked, not thinking before he opened his mouth. 

Erasa gasped. "Doesn't Gohan's kid love My Little Pony?" 

"Exactly." Videl said. 

"Huh? How would Gohan's kid get access to your Netflix account? When she's missing?" Sharpner said. 

How indeed. 

"Forget studying. We're searching the house." 

And they did. But they looked in every room, every floor, even the vents (as best they could). Videl even ordered the staff to help them, but to no avail. Gohan and Tenshi weren't in the house. 

By the time they finished looking, Erasa and Sharpner absolutely had to go home, and Videl let them. But she knew where to go next. 

She grabbed the keys to her car and stormed out of the house. 

"M-Ms. Videl!" called out the very maid who had been getting copies of her homework. 

Videl turned her head around to look at her. 

"Unless it's an explanation about this whole mess, I don't want to hear it," Videl said. 

The maid trembled with fear, genuinely scared of what Videl was about to do. 

"P-Please - ! I only did as your father instructed! I don't know what's really going on or why it's happening. He forbade us from asking! And - and I would give the homework to the staff that was headed to the summer home!" 

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Videl said and continued on to the car lot. 

That was as good as confirmation that she would find out what was going on at the summer home. It was a bit of a drive, but no biggie. 

Videl hopped into her car, turned the key in the ignition, then roared the car to life and sped off onto the road. She did keep the speed limit in mind, but once she was out of the city limits, she gave the speed limit no mind and sped off as fast as she was comfortable with. 

She didn't know what her father had to do with Gohan and Tenshi missing. But now that the maid had said it, it made far too much sense. But what could his motive possibly be? Sure, he had the resources to pull this off, but what was the angle? There was no rhyme or reason to kidnap a little girl and a teenager and hold them hostage at the summer home. And why bother getting Gohan's homework if he was going to hold them hostage? This didn't make any sense no matter how Videl sliced it. 

It also was horribly out of character for her father. Sure, she sometimes didn't get along with him. She sometimes thought he was too egotistical and full of himself. She sometimes hated that he embarrassed her some of the time. But he was a loving father, cared for her and looked after her and wasn't a creep. This didn't make any sense at all. 

She reached the summer home, then parked the car and stormed up to the front door. 

Ordinarily, there was little staff at the summer home, just enough people to keep it tidy and dust-free until summertime. But when Videl entered the house, she could already tell that there was more staff up there than usual. She could smell the food cooking from the entry way. 

The summer home was smaller than the main home and it was easier to hear through the walls and smell things from the different rooms. It was also a bit of an older building, bought more for a particular aesthetic and antiquated feel so that summers felt like some kind of fairy tale paradise. 

She marched right to the kitchen, knowing that there were people there. She startled them something terrible, and they immediately looked fearful to see her. She had her no-nonsense face on, and she was glad that it looked like she'd be getting to the bottom of this sooner rather than later. 

"Just what the hell is going on!? Just what is Dad up to!?" 

They were hesitant to answer her, but she opened her mouth to shout at them more when the sound of the intercom spurting static interrupted her. The staff and Videl looked up at the intercom. 

"H-hello? Is this thing working?" came Tenshi's voice, small and scared. "My - my daddy isn't feeling too good. H-he isn't eating and - and that's weird 'cause he always eats and - and his forehead feels really hot and he's not waking up and I don't know what to do!" 

Videl's hard-ass expression fell as she heard Tenshi try not to cry while begging for help. 

"He - _sniff_ \- he's been asleep for hours and hours and I can't get him to wake up and - and it's so lonely in here without him awake and - and I want my mommy!" 

Videl rounded on the staff. 

"Which room!? Where is she!?" 

They quickly stammered out the location of Tenshi and Gohan, and Videl ran to the room, grabbing the set of keys off of a belt loop of a staff member as she ran past. As Videl ran, one of the staff took out their phone and called Mr. Satan. 

Videl reached the door and pushed the key into the lock and turned it. After hearing the click, she pushed it open. 

"Tenshi! I'm here!" 

"Videl!" 

Tenshi rushed from Gohan's side on the bed to Videl, throwing herself at her and hugging her tightly. Videl hugged her in return, bending down and squeezing her. 

"We're getting you and your daddy out of here, okay?" Videl said, pulling back to get a look at Tenshi's face. 

Tenshi looked unharmed and having healed completely since the tournament. 

Tenshi nodded, then looked over at Gohan. Gohan was fast asleep on the bed, face flushed and sweating. 

"He hasn't eaten since yesterday morning and I don't really know how long he's been sick, but I realized he was sleeping too long today, and I don't know what to do - !" Tenshi said in a rush, clearly panicking. "Is Daddy gonna die!?" 

Videl shook her head. "Not on my watch. Tenshi, I have the police and the ambulance on speed dial, we're gonna get Gohan to a doctor and then we'll get you back with your mom and grandparents, okay?" 

Tenshi nodded again, then clung to Videl once more. 

Videl made the necessary calls, then when the ambulance got there, she and Tenshi went with them while the cops stayed to investigate the situation. A couple cop cars followed the ambulance to the hospital. 

Videl watched Gohan's face as they rode back to the city where the nearest hospital was. It was quite the drive, though, even with the ambulance's speed. Gohan shifted in his sleep, eyebrows furrowed and clearly not having a good sleep. Videl, perhaps against her better judgement, reached out to brush Gohan's hair away from his forehead while a medic took Gohan's temperature. 

Gohan muttered out the word "Piccolo?" weakly, without opening his eyes to see who it actually was. Videl hesitated, then took her hand back. 

She did . . . she did really like Gohan. After so long of not having any kind of romantic attachment to anybody, she had started to feel . . . something of the sort for Gohan. Despite Tenshi being his and Piccolo's daughter, it had been . . . a bit difficult to think of Gohan and Piccolo as an item. 

But that served as a good reminder, and she took a deep breath. 

She had no problems with just being friends. And she looked down at Tenshi as she made her resolution. 

Videl would never let anything bad happen to this precious little girl. She would never be the reason her parents didn't stay together. She would never let anyone kidnap her or hurt her ever again. 

Tenshi gripped onto Videl's arm, watching her daddy on the stretcher. Videl could feel her trembling. 

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. The doctors will find out what's wrong and fix him." 

Tenshi didn't respond verbally, but she hid her face into Videl's shirt, and Videl put her arm around her. 

She'd contact the rest of Tenshi's family once they got to the hospital.


	28. If That Diamond Turns to Brass

Gohan woke up and immediately regretted becoming conscious. His head hurt so bad, and his stomach hurt, but not in a way that made Gohan feel like he was hungry. No, eating was the last thing on his mind right then. He felt awful and didn't really want to open his eyes. 

But he did open them, and it took him a while to realize that he had been moved from the room he and Tenshi had been taken refuge in. 

The walls were a similar white color, but he could tell he was in a hospital and that there was an IV attached to his arm. He slowly moved his head around to try to see as much of the room as possible . . . but he couldn't find Tenshi within sight range. 

He forced himself to sit up, despite really not wanting to. 

He still couldn't see her. 

Despite the fever, he felt panicked. She had to be nearby, right? Mr. Satan wouldn't back out of their agreement, would he? It had to have been him who brought him here, right? 

"Tenshi?" Gohan called out, his voice sounding raspy and weird from not having been used for hours. "Tenshi!?" Gohan called out louder when he got no response. 

He moved to get out of the bed, but he swayed rather significantly as he put his feet on the ground. Shit.... 

He took a deep breath and his Super Saiyan aura flared around him. It gave him the strength he needed in order to push himself from the bed and across the room. 

"Tenshi!? Tenshi!? Where are you!?" 

He couldn't see her in the hall, and he pushed himself down the hallway. He was having attention drawn to him as he moved, and he could even tell that people were connecting the blonde hair and aura to the Cell Games, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

Where was his daughter? 

"Tenshi - ?" 

The fever suddenly felt worse than before, and his Super Saiyan form got knocked out of him by sheer pain. He fell to the floor, his body unable to support his weight right then, and he felt the IV rip from his arm. He could smell the blood, but his vision was going out, and unconsciousness greeted him once more. 

Tenshi and Videl had temporarily left the room to get a water and a soda from the vending machine, and they were startled to hear Gohan shouting for Tenshi. They hurried back to the room, but the two girls stopped as they rounded the corner and saw Gohan fall to the ground, blonde hair fading back to black, the IV ripping and Gohan making a rather sickening "thunk" sound as he hit the ground. 

"DADDY!" 

Tenshi ran to him and Videl went after her. The doctor was called over the intercom for immediate assistance as the nurses lifted Gohan off the ground and took him back to his room, assessing his current condition. 

Videl had to hold Tenshi back as the nurses and doctor did their work, but they could overhear what was being said. 

His fever had gone from responding to the antibiotics they gave him to getting worse. The doctor was ordering a tub of ice to be brought immediately, and the nurses set in to getting rid of the sheets and Gohan's clothes (except for his boxers). 

Videl pulled Tenshi out of the room, but Tenshi was in tears. 

"What's wrong with Daddy? Why isn't he getting better?" 

"I don't know...." 

Tenshi turned to look up at Videl, her face tear-stained and eyes watering. 

"Why is this happening? Why can't we just be at home with Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy?" 

Videl frowned, not having any good answer for her. Videl knelt down and put her hands on Tenshi's shoulders. 

"The doctors will be able to get your daddy back to full health, I know they will. Now Tenshi, do you know your home phone number? We can go contact your mommy if you - " 

But Videl hadn't even finished her sentence when she heard a sound behind her. She turned around to see what it was, and her eyes widened to see Goku, Chichi, Piccolo, and Goten all standing there. Goku took his hands off of Chichi's and Piccolo's shoulders. 

"Gohan's here!? Where is he!?" Chichi asked, going up to Videl and looking worried but relieved to have some kind of news. 

"Tenshi!" 

Piccolo rushed to his daughter and pulled her into his arms. Tenshi clung to Piccolo tightly, her tears falling more freely. 

"Mommy! Daddy's really sick and they don't know why!" 

Goten's eyes widened, and he gripped onto Chichi's dress tightly. 

"Where'd you find them?" Goku asked Videl, and Videl hesitated before answering. 

"I started getting suspicious when I realized that some of the family staff was getting copies of my homework and that my Netflix account had recommendations based off of shows that Tenshi watches.... Then I went to our summer home and searched the place and . . . and I found them in one of the bedrooms.... I swear I have no idea what's going on, but the police are investigating right now, and when we find my dad, we'll be able to get some answers." 

Goku furrowed his eyebrows, doubting that Mr. Satan could have forced Gohan to go or be anywhere. None of this was making any sense to Goku. 

But Mr. Satan was the least of Goku's concerns right now, or Chichi's or Piccolo's or Goten's. Gohan and Tenshi were their priorities right now. 

It took a long time to get Gohan's fever to go down, and the doctors were running some tests to determine what was causing the fever. Piccolo held Tenshi in his arms the entire time that they waited for news on what was happening to Gohan. 

The doctor came out finally to talk to them. 

"Are you the boy's parents?" 

"I'm Gohan's mother, yes, now what's wrong with my baby!?" 

The doctor adjusted his glasses. 

"We've gotten his tests back, and he's tested positive for Typhoid Fever. His strain didn't seem to be resistant to antibiotics until he got up and tried to leave his hospital bed." 

"And went Super Saiyan," Tenshi added. 

"Uh - pardon?" the doctor said. 

"Daddy had gone Super Saiyan, then fell down and went back to normal," Tenshi elaborated. 

"W-what's a Super Saiyan?" the doctor asked. Videl was wondering that as well. 

"Ah, well...." Goku started, then he explained that he was actually an alien called a Saiyan, that Gohan was half-Saiyan, and what a Super Saiyan was and why it was significant. 

"So you're saying that it increases your strength and physical abilities?" the doctor asked, trying to clarify. 

Goku nodded. 

"Hm.... I wonder if going Super Saiyan strengthened the infection as well...." 

The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed. But there wasn't really a way to know for sure, and as long as Gohan got better, they weren't overly concerned with it, at least not right then. 

After that conversation, it was a waiting game. Waiting for the fever to break, waiting for word on whether or not the police found Mr. Satan.... Waiting, waiting, waiting.


	29. Papa's Gonna Buy You a Looking Glass

When Mr. Satan got the phone call from his staff member, he had been going about his job at the gym, giving instructions to the gym members. He paled considerably when he got the call. 

_"Ms. Videl has come to the summer house and found the boy and child. She's contacted the police and having them sent to the hospital. The boy has a high fever and isn't conscious."_

Mr. Satan hadn't even though to give his staff member a response before he quickly made an excuse and made his exit. 

He didn't go back to his home, and he didn't go to the summer home. No, he was in deep trouble, and he had to find a way to fix things as quickly as possible. And the best way to do that was . . . was . . . . 

Oh, he didn't know! His reputation was at stake - prison time was at stake! - and none of his options looked good! None of his options were ideal at all! And he couldn't fake a stomach ache with this.... 

What to do, what to do, what to do!? 

He ended up attempting to hide in a cafe that he really had never visited before. He was famous, so he'd be recognized everywhere, but he didn't want to get caught in a place that cameras and such would swarm immediately when the news broke. He knew they'd be trying to find him. He just needed a little time to figure out how to come out on top.... 

His thoughts strayed to Gohan, the whole reason this mess was even happening. Why did that kid have to be the Cell Games kid!? Why'd he have to have a daughter and have family problems he wanted to escape from!? Why did he have to be a part of any of this!? It wasn't fair! 

If he got arrested and sent to jail, he was doomed. If his secret got out, he was doomed. 

He was done for either way and would never, ever reach this level of fame and fortune ever again. 

And that didn't compare to his relationship with Videl. She already was distancing herself from him. Things just hadn't been the same since he and her mother split.... If she found out he was a liar.... If she thought he had _kidnapped a classmate of hers and his daughter_.... 

In any other situation, the latter would obviously be the more grievous situation and that he should clearly take on the lesser of two evils. But it wasn't just a classmate of hers, it was the boy from the Cell Games. A boy who, from the little Mr. Satan had heard of him from Videl over the course of the new school year, was poor and lived in the mountains and _had a daughter_ to look after. A boy who would have benefited far more from the fame and fortune that anyone else. 

He's not just a liar, he's a thief, a cheat, a scumbag, and - and she'd never forgive him. 

Before the Cell Games, he had still been rather well off because of the gym and the various tournament winnings. They still had a decent house in the city.... 

But all of that would go away if the truth got out or if the impression that he had kidnapped them spread. It would go away.... No one would want to be associated with him anymore. All the fame and money would go away.... 

He never should've agreed to this, but what was he to do? Let that brat expose him? 

Would the brat ever have actually followed through on his threat? Was all of this because he had just been too much of a coward? 

His hands were shaking as they held onto the coffee cup. 

There was a TV in the room. It was on the news channel, and Mr. Satan froze when he heard the news report. 

"Thanks, Jim. We just received word that the missing fighters Son Gohan and Son Tenshi have been found after having vanished from the Tenkaichi Budokai just six days previously. Son Tenshi is six-years-old and unharmed and rejoined with the rest of her family. But Son Gohan is in the hospital with a bad case of Thyphoid Fever. They had been found in the summer home of Mr. Satan and was found by his daughter, Videl, who was outraged to discover that they were being hidden there." 

Mr. Satan chanced a glance at the TV, and there Videl was on the screen. She was frowning and had that hard look she got when she was upset but was hiding it. 

"I have no idea what is going on, but I'm working with the police to get answers." 

"Do you know if your father, Mr. Satan, is involved at all?" 

"That's the story the house staff are sticking with, but we won't know for sure until we find my father and he's brought in for questioning. Once Gohan has recovered from his fever, he'll also be questioned." 

It cut back to the announcer. 

"Thyphoid fever is a type of salmonella. It's transferred from person-to-person if someone who has Thyphoid fever prepares and serves food to others. It is far more common in underdeveloped, rural areas. It's unclear where Son Gohan contracted the illness, if it was before he vanished or during his captivity." 

It then cut to a different story entirely, but Mr. Satan knew it wouldn't stay that way. 

He couldn't stop his hands from shaking. 

He didn't move or run away when the police eventually arrived at the cafe to pick him up and take him in. By the time that had happened, another news story broke. 

"An update on the Kidnapped Tournament Participants - Son Gohan's fever is showing no signs of abating, but his daughter, Son Tenshi, opened up to the press." 

Mr. Satan's blood ran cold as he listened to the television, even as the police entered the cafe through the front door. 

"I was sleeping for part of it, but I think we were in that room for all six days until Videl came to get us. I didn't know Mr. Satan was Videl's daddy, but Mr. Satan talked to my Daddy on the intercom thing, and Daddy wasn't scared or anything. Daddy was mad so he didn't want to go anywhere anyway. Daddy wasn't sick for the first few days, but then he wouldn't wake up, and I moved the furniture around so I could reach the intercom button, and then Videl came and got us." There was a cut that implied there was someone asking a question before she spoke again. "The only person I ever saw was Daddy until Videl got us. I didn't ever see anybody else."

It cut back to the announcer. 

"Police have recovered all of Tenshi's belongings, which had been stolen from her home in Mtn. Paozu, and put in the room in which she and her father were kept in captivity. They also have recovered Orange High School assignments and textbooks. Jim." 

"Thank you for that update, Jodie." 

Back in the hospital, the cameras were off, and Chichi and Piccolo still looked uneasy, both because of Gohan's not-improving condition and because they weren't entirely sure they should've let Tenshi talk to the journalist. But Tenshi felt like she had done a good thing, something that would help the situation get resolved (whatever that meant). And Videl had talked to them, so it must've been a good idea.

Mr. Satan let the police take him away and into the patrol car.


	30. If That Looking Glass Gets Broke

Nighttime had fallen, and Goku and Goten had fallen asleep in the waiting room chair. Goten was curled up in Goku's lap, and Goku's head was tilted back, leaning against the wall. A little bit of drool dribbled down from the corner of Goku's mouth. Chichi's head rested on Goku's shoulder - the shoulder that wasn't about to have a drop of drool drop onto it. She wasn't exactly asleep, but she clearly needed sleep. 

Gohan still wasn't doing too well, though the fever had come down slightly. 

Piccolo and Tenshi, of course, didn't sleep due to being Namekian. Videl had left the hospital; she had school the next day, but whether or not she had gone home was unknown. Piccolo had a feeling the teenager wasn't going to be sleeping at home, though he had no idea where else she would've gone. He figured they'd see her again tomorrow. 

"Mommy?" Tenshi asked softly. Piccolo looked down at Tenshi. "Can we check on Daddy?" 

Piccolo nodded and let Tenshi jump down from his lap and held her hand as they walked down to where Gohan's hospital room was. 

Visiting hours were long over, but due to the publicity of the kidnapping, the hospital was uneasy about separating the family and making them go back home. Piccolo supposed it had to do with either getting potentially sued or to do with the press. Maybe both. Piccolo didn't understand all that stuff as well as Chichi did, but he knew that humans tended to bend and break with threats of money-soaking-up lawsuits. Whatever a lawsuit actually was. 

They reached his hospital room. Since the hospital was always working, the lights were always on, though in Gohan's room they were dimmed so that it wouldn't make his head hurt worse when he did open his eyes. 

Piccolo eased the door open, and Tenshi slipped inside. Piccolo stood in the doorway for a moment, his chest tightening. 

Gohan looked flushed and sweaty, bedsheets thrown to the side and a damp towel sitting on his forehead. Piccolo could sense his ki fluctuating softly with the ebb and flow of the illness, and it made him worry. 

Tenshi went up to the edge of the bed, staring up at her father and gripping the side of the bed railing. 

". . . When is he gonna get better?" 

Piccolo didn't answer, honestly not knowing the answer. He didn't know. He didn't know if Gohan _would_ get better. He had overheard Chichi speaking worriedly to Goku when she thought he couldn't hear her that if the fever didn't abate soon, that he might . . . he might not . . . . 

"He is gonna get better. Isn't he, Mommy?" 

Piccolo walked over to Tenshi and put his hand on her head. 

He didn't worry about Tenshi possibly catching it. She didn't eat, and Piccolo had long learned that diseases that humans and Saiyans could get weren't communicable with Namekians. He and Tenshi would never be concerned with contagious human illnesses. 

"We'll just have to see...." he said. 

Tenshi's lower lip quivered, and her eyes widened and eyebrows furrowed, and Piccolo had to be strong for her, even though he really didn't feel strong. He felt helpless, despite having his daughter back. He couldn't help Gohan. There wasn't anything he could do.... 

He could comfort Tenshi the best he could, but if anything happened to Gohan . . . . 

"Piccolo . . . ?" 

Piccolo looked up rather suddenly, and he saw Gohan had opened his eyes and was looking over at him. Gohan's chest was very slowly moving up and down with his breathing, but otherwise wasn't moving. He slowly adjusted his head so he could see the Namekian better. 

"Piccolo?" 

His voice was weak, but Piccolo could hear him clear as day. He moved closer to Gohan and reached out to gently press the back of his hand against Gohan's cheek. He felt too warm against his hand. 

"It's me," Piccolo said, speaking softly. 

"You're here." 

"Yeah." 

Tears welled up in Gohan's eyes. 

"Tenshi, get your father a cup of water from the water cooler over there." 

"Right!" 

Tenshi quickly moved to go get it. 

"You're here...." 

Piccolo caressed Gohan's face, thumb brushing against his cheek. Gohan closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to appreciate the comparative coolness of Piccolo's hand. 

"You're in the hospital, Gohan. The doctors are trying to get your fever to go down with medication and damp rags and blankets. It's going to be okay." 

It occurred to Piccolo that maybe he should send Tenshi to get Chichi, but he knew the woman needed her sleep, and he didn't know how long Gohan was going to be awake. And . . . and he did appreciate the time along with Gohan that he now had. The last time he and Gohan had actually been alone had been . . . years ago. 

Tenshi brought the cup of water and handed it to Piccolo, and Piccolo brought it to Gohan's mouth. 

"Here. Drink." 

Gohan accepted the cup of water and Piccolo's help with drinking it. Piccolo tilted it back so it would reach Gohan's lips and be easy to sip. He then held it and waited for Gohan to swallow, then continued to help him drink it until it was empty. 

"Would you like more?" 

Gohan nodded. Then Piccolo gave the cup back to Tenshi, and she hurried to fill it back up. 

"It hurts really bad...." Gohan said. 

Piccolo touched the damp towel on Gohan's forehead, then pulled it off, judging it to need to be re-dampened or replaced with a new towel entirely. 

He knew the nurses were checking up on him and taking care of him, but he also wasn't sure when they had last been in the room. He found the call button and pushed it. A nurse would be there in due time. 

"We'll get you all better soon," Piccolo said, hoping that he wasn't lying. 

Gohan looked up at him, his face terribly flushed. 

". . . Why're you here?" Gohan asked. 

Piccolo wasn't sure how to feel about that question. His immediate gut feeling was to be hurt by it, but he needed to be strong for his world. 

"Because I love you and I want you to be safe and healthy. I wouldn't ever just take Tenshi and leave you behind." 

He wasn't sure if he meant that in a bitter, stab-you-while-you're-down way. . . . No, he definitely didn't mean it like that. He was too worried to feel bitter. He meant it to be comforting. 

"Aren't you mad at me?" Gohan asked, and Piccolo felt a surge of heartache. 

" _No._ No, I'm not mad at you. I've been afraid and hurt and sad, but I haven't been angry with you." 

Tears rolled down Gohan's face, and Piccolo didn't know if it was from pain or from their conversation. 

"I'm sorry...." The word trailed off in the form of a type of whine; again, Piccolo couldn't tell if it was from pain or from emotional duress. "I just wanted her to be safe...." 

"I know. We all want that. Right now, I want you to focus on getting better, all right? Then we'll put everything right again and talk about it." 

Gohan nodded, which seemed to make his head hurt worse. 

The nurse arrived, and Piccolo told her what Gohan needed - more pain meds and another damp towel and more fluids. Tenshi supplied the cups of water until the nurse shooed them out of the room so Gohan could rest. 

Piccolo and Tenshi spent the rest of the night meditating while Chichi, Goku, and Goten slept. Goku was the first to wake up in the morning, due to his stomach, then Tenshi and her grandfather went in search of the cafeteria and Piccolo stayed with Chichi and Goten in case they woke up and wondered where they were.


	31. Mama's Gonna Buy You a Billy Goat

Her father arrested and Gohan in the hospital, Videl couldn't focus in school. No one blamed her. She ended up not sticking around for her afternoon classes and ditched. Erasa and Sharpner followed after her during lunch period, though it took a while to catch up with her. 

Videl apparently had found some crooks to beat up on her way to running to the hospital. The police had swarmed the area and were handling it from there, so Sharpner slowed the car down. 

"Wanna get in? We can drive to the hospital to check up on him." Sharpner asked. 

Videl was sweating and had a bit of a bruise forming just under her lip. She wiped her forehead and shook her head, tossing her pigtail over her shoulder. 

"Nah. I wanna run." 

She couldn't stand the thought of being confined in the car with nothing but her thoughts to focus on. She didn't want to think about her dad anymore. 

Dammit, _what had he been thinking!?_

She ran the rest of the way to the hospital, Sharpner driving at a safe, slower pace than normal, just so that they didn't get there far sooner than Videl. 

Videl knew exactly what floor Gohan was on, so when all three arrived at the hospital, she took them up to the proper floor. 

"Hey!" 

Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner turned around to see Goku, lifting his hand to wave at them as he carried various items from the hospital cafeteria. His face was bright and smiling, and Videl felt her chest becoming significantly lighter. 

"Gohan's fever's almost all gone! So you can see him if you want!" 

In the hospital room, Gohan was sitting up and the medical chart at the end of the bed described how he was responding to the antibiotics now. There was also some scribbles on there that were hard to read, so Videl discounted how similarly they looked like "contribute abnormal medical responses to extraterrestrial genetics" because there was no way that was really what it said. Tenshi was sitting on the bed with her daddy, and Goten and Chichi were very near Gohan's side, Chichi taking the food that Goku handed her and insisting on feeding Gohan. 

"Mom, I'm seventeen!" 

"I don't care, now open wide." 

Gohan sighed, but opened his mouth and took the bite his mother was giving him. 

Tenshi crawled from her spot next to Gohan to the end of the bed so she could see and talk to Videl better, and Goten immediately took Tenshi's place on the bed beside Gohan. 

"Videl! Daddy's feeling better! The doctor says that he'll be able to go home in a day or two!" Tenshi exclaimed. 

"If he continues to improve," said Piccolo, smiling softly.

"That's great! And how're you doing?" 

"I'm good! Glad I'm outta that room and back with Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Goten." 

Videl nodded. "I'm glad about that, too." 

"How're you?" Piccolo asked her. 

Videl was a little surprised by the question, but she answered. "I'm okay." 

Gohan finished chewing the bite of food Chichi had given him, frowning a bit. 

"You sure? I mean.... Your dad's kinda taking the heat right now...." 

How could he be worrying about her and her dad when it was her dad's fault this whole thing was even happening? 

"You don't have to worry about me, you focus on getting better," Videl said. 

The look Gohan was giving her told her he wasn't going to stop worrying, and that made her stomach tie up in knots. She didn't need him worrying about her, he had plenty else to be concerned with, even after he got better from the fever. He had a daughter to look after and the school he had missed and getting things worked out with Piccolo.... There was no time for her, and she had no right to take any of it up. 

Sharper, Erasa, and Videl stayed at the hospital for a while, but then Videl got a call she had to take from the police precinct. She stepped out of the room for a moment, then took the call. 

"Miss Videl, do you know how Son Gohan's condition is going?" 

"He's feeling better. Why?" 

"Mr. Satan's - your father's - line of questioning has been going in circles. He insists the boy blackmailed him into assisting with the kidnapping of the child. We need to question the young man, so if he's up for it, we'll send an officer up to the hospital to ask him." 

"Hm. Right. I'll see if he's well enough for that and call you back." 

"Thank you. And condolences for this whole mess. I know this is hard for you." 

Videl didn't really respond to it, but she hung up and went back into the hospital room. 

"Uh, Gohan?" 

"Hm?" 

"Um.... At some point, the police will need to ask you what happened.... When do you think you'll be up for it?" 

Chichi looked like she wanted to say something about that being asked far too soon, but Gohan spoke up before she could say anything. 

"If they're able, I could talk to them today, I think." 

"But you've only just gotten better!" Chichi admonished. 

"And it's not fair to anybody if I don't say anything," Gohan said, giving Chichi a stern look. 

Whatever they were silently communicating to each other, Videl had no idea, but Chichi's strict motherly expression faded away into a softer one. 

"You're right...." 

Videl called the police back and let them know that Gohan was willing to talk to them whenever they were ready today. 

Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa left before the police got there, and everyone but Tenshi and Chichi were ushered out once the police were there for questioning. Chichi insisted on staying by Gohan's side no matter what, to make sure he was well-hydrated and well-fed, and the police also wanted Tenshi's side of the story. 

"Tell us in your own words what happened the day that you and your daughter vanished from the tournament." 

There was a recorder, and Gohan knew he had to pick his words carefully. 

"Tenshi got hurt, I was really angry. I wanted to take my daughter somewhere safe and didn't want my family to know where we were. I had knowledge of things I knew Mr. Satan didn't want to be known, so I confronted him and told him I would tell people the truth if he didn't help me. He refused my help at first, but then I threatened to tell his daughter, and he caved after that. Mr. Satan didn't hurt me or my daughter, and when he was on the property, he checked on us personally to make sure we were all right and that we had what we needed. I was responsible for the whole mess." 

"What did you blackmail him with?" 

Gohan bit his lip, not wanting to say. 

"He didn't do anything illegal, if that's what you're asking." 

Tenshi pouted, then looked up at her dad. 

"Daddy, why are we helping him keep it a secret?" 

"Because it doesn't matter." 

"But he's a big liar and a phony." 

"Tenshi." 

Tenshi crossed her arms and leaned back against the propped up pillows. 

They turned the recorder off. 

"Well, your story collaborates with Mr. Satan's story, and we can vouch that you haven't had contact with him in between receiving his story and getting yours. So this means this case goes in a much different direction from this point on. Since you're underage, the next step is really up to your parents and Tenshi's other parent." 

One of the two cops brought Goku, Piccolo, and Goten back inside the room. 

"Son Goku and Son Chichi, are you wanting to press charges against your son for the kidnapping of your grandchild?" 

"Press . . . charges? What's that?" Goku asked. 

"They're asking if we want to take Gohan to court for what he did," Chichi explained. 

Goku just stared at her. 

"Why would we do that? What's a court? Can't we just put him in time out?" 

"No, we're not going to press charges. I'd much rather just have my family back home." 

"I agree. This mess has gone on long enough, and as far as I'm concerned, it's over now," Piccolo said. 

"We understand. Thank you for your time." 

The cops left, though both of them were wondering just what a seventeen year old could have on Mr. Satan that wasn't illegal. 

Mr. Satan was released later that day. He arrived at home, in need of a bath due to how much he was sweating nervously at the police station and in holding. 

He stood in the doorway of his own home, being stared at with confusion and uneasiness. 

Videl glared at him, then marched down the hall, towel over her shoulder.

"Videl! Videl, wait!" 

She ignored him, even as he hurried after her to try to explain what happened. 

Videl slammed the bathroom door in his face and locked it. Her eyes were welling with tears as she turned on the shower head. 

But she wasn't going to talk to him.


	32. If That Billy Goat Don't Pull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm combining some of what I know of Japanese law/social tendencies with stuff I've encountered here in the USA and making up as I go along. So made-up laws are inferred from both failures of police to come assist me when I've called them and Japanese law stuff I admittedly learned from the manga Loveless when I really trying to get into it but failing miserably. This should not be used as a guide to law anywhere real.

The TV built into the ceiling of the aircraft was playing, and it was on the news channel. A reporter lady in a nice suit was standing beside a screen behind a desk, a slideshow occurring on the screen as she talked. 

"Son Gohan of the Tenkaichi Budokai Disappearance debacle was released from the hospital yesterday evening, but the mystery of the situation isn't any clearer. No charges have been pressed against anyone involved in the case, aside from criminal charges of reckless endangerment given to the member of Mr. Satan's staff who was preparing food with unwashed hands while they were a carrier of Thyphoid Fever. The staff member had gone on a trip, contracted the illness, got better, and did not consult their at-home doctor. Sources say that Mr. Satan had been _blackmailed_ into assisting with the abduction of Son Tenshi and that Son Gohan, her father, was the one in charge of the operation. Due to the young man's status as underage, police deferred to his parents for how the situation should be handled. Our investigative reporter Hachi has more information. Hachi." 

"Thanks, Laika. Yes, legally, the Tenkaichi Budokai Disappearance ends with tournament winner Son Goku and Ox King descendent Chichi not pressing charges against Mr. Satan or their son. This isn't just due to their son being underage, but the fact that they live in Mount Paozu. The very personal nature of the crime and their non-residency within the city limits is truly what dictates that the case will no longer be pursued by police. There's also the fact that they are directly related to the Ox King, who still holds some power in more rural areas of the world. It's nothing compared to the days where people trembled in fear of him, but creating tension between one of the remaining old royalty powers in the world is not advisable. The period of peace that those under the Ox King have been experiencing is unexplained. No one who remembers the days of terror wants to risk putting an end to it." 

"What about this blackmail that was levied against Mr. Satan? Are there any theories about what it might be?" 

"All we know is that it has been insisted that Mr. Satan has done nothing illegal. Son Tenshi has said on record, however, that Mr. Satan is, and I quote, a _liar_ and a _phony_. This suggests that Mr. Satan, at some point, has perhaps cheated someone out of something, perhaps the Son family themselves. It does appear that the entire Son family is aware of what the blackmail is, though no one but the children are willing to speak out about it, and further interviews with Son Tenshi and Son Goten have not been permitted. It is their choice to keep it under wraps, and it appears to be a type of apology for pulling Mr. Satan into their family drama." 

"It is rather odd that a seventeen-year-old is a six-year-old's father."

"The psychological impact of having such a responsibility at such a young age has been taken into account with the investigation up to this point." 

"Do we have to listen to that?" Vegeta asked, turning his head around to the backseat where Dr. and Mrs. Briefs were sitting with Trunks. 

Trunks was staring at the TV screen, his legs swinging back and forth. 

"Well, it's good to know how the rest of the world sees what we see," Dr. Briefs said. "I'm impressed by how close to reality they got." 

"Is it really that weird that Gohan's seventeen?" Trunks asked, eyes not leaving the TV, though his body movement indicated that he really did not want to be sitting still. 

"Uh, well...." Mrs. Briefs started. 

"They don't know what we know about how Namekians reproduce, Trunks. They're assuming Gohan had sex with someone to have Tenshi, and the only way an eleven-year-old is going to have a baby is through some kind of child abuse." 

Trunks had had the talk already, Namekian biology included, so he knew exactly what Bulma was talking about. 

"Hm. So they're saying they went easy on him?" 

"Pretty much. Though I'll be honest, with how many times _Gohan_ has been kidnapped or whisked away without anyone telling him where he was going, I can't say confidently that Gohan even knows kidnapping's illegal." 

"Whaddya mean?" Trunks asked. 

"Well, first Radditz kidnapped him. Then Piccolo kidnapped him. Then.... Wait, maybe those were the only two times." 

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Why'd _Piccolo_ kidnap him?" 

"Well - " 

"And how much longer until we're gonna get there!?" 

"Just a bit longer." 

"And how come it took so long for us to go see them!? The hospital is a lot closer than their house, if we had to take a vehicle." 

"We didn't want to crowd them, and Gohan was really sick and they were really worried and we didn't want to distract - " 

"But I haven't seen Tenshi in forever!"

Bulma smiled. Trunks had been so upset and guilty over Tenshi getting hurt and then her disappearance. Convincing him to ride in the car with them had been difficult, but she did understand his worry and concern. But the Sons were fine now, and they could afford to go as a family instead of letting Vegeta and Trunks just speed off ahead of them. 

"We'll all get to see her again when we get there. And Goten and Gohan, too." 

Vegeta looked out the window, his thoughts not quite on the same page as theirs. 

When they did arrive at the Sons' house, Trunks bolted out of the air craft and almost slammed into the front door, he was in such a hurry. He banged on the door. 

"WE'RE HERE! TENSHI, GOTEN, IT'S TRUNKS!" 

The adults moved at a much more slower pace, Vegeta still rather lost in thought. Bulma decapsulated the air craft, then looked over at Vegeta curiously. 

"Something the matter?" 

"Hm?" Vegeta looked over at her, then shook his head. She put the capsule in her capsule case, then put the case in her pocket. 

The front door opened, and Chichi stood there. Trunks rushed into the house, and Chichi smiled as he did so. 

"It's good to see you again," Chichi said. "Tenshi and Goten are in their study room, and Gohan and Goku are in the backyard training."

"Really?" Bulma asked, looking surprised. 

Chichi was smirking a bit. "It's technically less training and more how they would've fought in the tournament, and it's the punishment Goku and I settled on, since Goku couldn't seem to wrap his head around the fact that making Gohan sit in a corner with nothing to do for thirty minutes isn't an appropriate response to disappearing for 6 days." 

"Oh, I see," Bulma said. 

Vegeta snorted. "Bet he wishes he hadn't slacked on the training now." 

Vegeta went to go see Goku and Gohan fight in the backyard while Bulma, Mrs. Briefs, and Dr. Briefs went into the kitchen. Piccolo was there, helping Chichi keep an eye on the food she was preparing. 

In the study room, Trunks found Goten and Tenshi. 

Trunks went from running like crazy to coming to an abrupt halt, almost putting a skid mark on the wooden floor. He stood in the doorway, eyes landing on Tenshi and his brain needing a moment to assure him that she really was there. 

Tenshi was actually staring out the window at Goku and Gohan fighting, and she was wearing a new dress Piccolo had clothes-beamed for her. It was white with a yellow sash around her waist and had a band that went around her head that had a giant yellow flower on one side. 

Trunks caught his thoughts comparing her to an actual angel, and he couldn't bring himself to feel embarrassed about it. 

"Trunks!" Goten said, pulling Trunks out of the semi-trance he had found himself in. 

Tenshi looked over her shoulder as Goten stood up from his place on the floor. Trunks for a split second caught the expression she had had on her face as she watched her father and grandfather fight, but he couldn't figure out what it had been before she was smiling at him. She jumped down from the window sill, her fangs flashing in the light. 

"Hey!" 

Trunks broke into another run and flung himself at her, and Tenshi managed to stay on her feet and catch him. His arm caught on her oxygen tank, but he moved his arm to include the tank in the hug. Tenshi hugged him back, giggling a little. 

"I'm glad to see you, too. Don't forget Goten now." 

Goten, however, was just smiling on the sidelines, watching. He understood just how much Trunks had missed her and how much he blamed himself for it, even though none of it was his fault. 

"I - " Trunks started, and Tenshi's eyes widened as it sounded like he was crying. "I thought I was never gonna see you again. I - I thought you were gonna - that you weren't gonna - !" 

Tenshi tried to smile comfortingly. "Hey, no way was I gonna die. And of course I'd come back, it would've just been a matter of time. I'm back now, and that's all that matters, right?" 

Trunks pulled away and wiped at his face, and Tenshi didn't know if she should pretend she hadn't noticed he was crying or not. 

"Right. Right." 

He smiled at her all the same. 

"Mom's got cookies and things baking in the kitchen, do you want to go get some?" Goten asked them both. 

Trunks and Tenshi turned to look at Goten. 

"Sure." 

"Sounds good!" 

They walked out of the study room, Trunks beside Tenshi and Goten trailing behind them. 

Everything was going to go back to normal once the relief that Tenshi was back finally set in. Goten was confident about that. 

He shouldn't have been, but he was.


	33. Mama's Gonna Buy You a Cart and a Bull

Vegeta leaned against the wall of the house as he watched Goku and Gohan fight. It reminded Vegeta of the days of his childhood, before Frieza blew the planet up, when his people would take recreational pleasure in beating the shit out of each other. Sometimes because there was just nothing else to do, sometimes because someone had done something to wrong the other, but mostly because it was just fun. But there was a more brutal aspect to it than the training sessions of Earth days. It had the urgency and intensity of training for the Androids or Cell. After having slacked off as much as he had over the years, it was clear that it was taking a bit of a strain on Gohan, though Vegeta knew the boy's levels of power still outstripped his and Kakarott's. 

Part of him wanted to be angry that Gohan was letting himself go, but he did just witness what the boy was capable of with his intellect and ruthlessness alone. On Earth, Gohan was far more formidable on multiple levels of battle, not just the physical, than he or Kakarott ever would be. Chichi had taught the boy well, and his focus on his studies and his wrath had placed Son Gohan on a level that Vegeta envied. 

Vegeta didn't know if he would ever be capable of the kind of love that propelled Gohan to new heights of victory. Had the boy not caught that Thyphoid Fever, they may never have seen them again. And Vegeta was no fool. He knew it wasn't over, that the boy would always be against Tenshi fighting. No punishment would change the fact that Gohan made it quite clear that he is truly the head of the household and is the one who makes decisions on Tenshi's behalf. 

But Tenshi was Gohan's daughter. It wasn't just Gohan who had reserves of power untapped. 

"Gohan! Goku! Food's ready!" Chichi's voice called after a while, and it was only then that Goku and Gohan stopped. 

Gohan hunched over, hands on his knees, panting hard and sweat dripping off his face and hair. The wetness of the sweat seemed to be affecting his hair's ability to stay spiked up. Vegeta could really only guess, but Saiyan hair was very naturally spiky, with a few exceptions. He remembered the bowl haircut, though, from when the boy was on Namek, and suddenly the image of Chichi taking a flat iron to the boy's head made him need to resist the urge to snort in amusement. (Trunks of course didn't need any such treatment to his hair. Trunks had very much inherited his mother's hair, through and through.) 

Goku helped Gohan get back to standing up, and Gohan without a word drug himself back into the house. 

"So how long have you two been at it?" Vegeta asked. 

"Since I woke him up this morning, so around 4am?" Goku said. 

"He's one hundred percent recovered from that fever, then?" 

"Far as I can tell." 

"Hm. If your woman is fine with it, he must be." 

"Yup!" 

Kakarott continued to follow his son back into the house, but Vegeta reached out to grab his arm. 

"Hm? What is it?" 

"I wanted to discuss something with you, but I don't want the Namekians hearing." 

Vegeta gestured that they walk a ways away from the house, and Kakarott followed. After they reached an appropriate distance from the house, Vegeta turned to Kakarott, and Kakarott blinked repeatedly at Vegeta, wondering what this was about. 

"At the tournament. You felt exactly just how much power Tenshi has." 

Goku furrowed his eyebrows, getting more serious. 

"Yeah. She's a real powerhouse. It's a shame she can't use any of it. With all that potential, she could be stronger than Gohan." 

Stronger than any of us, was the implication Vegeta understood. 

"Tell me again, what exactly are Tenshi's limitations?" Vegeta asked. 

"Well, she can't regenerate. Which means she can't heal. So any cuts or bruises have to be healed by Dende or she's gonna bleed to death. Which means that she probably can't regrow limbs like Piccolo can." 

"But she can build muscle." 

"Yeah, I guess so. Looks like it, at least." 

"Anything else?" 

"Well, obviously she can't breathe without the cannula or her mask. Her lung capacity is terrible. And Piccolo and I were talking about the whole Super Saiyan thing last night, and he suspects that it's not just Super Saiyan she can't do, but any kind of energy attacks and flying. He says she needs her energy to stay inside her body, otherwise she'll overextend herself and not be able to walk, let alone fight back or run away." 

"So spoon theory is applicable here...." Vegeta muttered. 

"Huh? What do spoons have to do with it?" 

"Bulma's mother was explaining it. You know how she's a psychologist?" 

"Bulma's mom has a job!?" 

Vegeta snorted. "That's rich, coming from you." 

Goku scratched the back of his head. "Well, she never talked about it and she always seemed to have free time whenever I saw her...." 

Vegeta shook his head. 

"Spoon theory is essentially this: disabled and non-disabled people all have energy reserves, but what they have to use those energy reserves on are different. The disabled end up needing to use energy on this that are effortless for the non-disabled, resulting in them having less energy to do things non-disabled people still have plenty of energy to do." 

"But why are spoons involved?" 

Vegeta sighed. "Just ask the woman." 

Goku pouted. "Okay...." 

"But this means that fighting will only ever be recreational for her, despite her power. Despite having the power needed to defeat threats to the planet, she can't use it without assured destruction of herself." 

Goku absorbed that information for a while, then he frowned. 

"Man, that really sucks. I mean, hopefully that'll never even be an issue. But even for recreational fighting, she'd never be able to truly push herself to her limits without risking her safety.... Never really be able to stretch those limits further because she can't take herself that far." 

"It's . . . possible for her to raise her limits bar through safe recreational training, but I don't think it's likely given the situation." There was simply no way Gohan was going to allow it, otherwise Vegeta would encourage Kakarott to push for that. 

"Darn. And she's really good at it too. I really was hoping I'd get to train her some after I found out she was entering the tournament...." 

They both heard the movement of rock under foot at the same time, then turned to see both Tenshi and Trunks standing not too far away. Trunks was holding onto Tenshi's hand, obviously not wanting to let the girl out of his sights. 

Tenshi was staring at them, close to tears, looking like they had betrayed her. 

"What're you two doing out here?" Goku asked. 

"Grandma said to come get you two for food," Tenshi said, her voice wavering. "I can't believe you're on Daddy's side on this. You both think I can't do it!" 

Vegeta took a deep breath, knowing Kakarott wouldn't really know how to handle this. 

"That is not _exactly_ what we said. Your father believes you can't do it at all - because that's what he wants. But you are a very powerful, formidable fighter. It's just that your power comes at a cost, and the cost is a grave one. With special training, it could become less of an issue." 

"But?" Tenshi spat out. 

"But Gohan's stronger than both me and Vegeta," Kakarott said, giving an apologetic smile and a shrug. "And he's smart and resourceful, and while I do know that he'd never take you away again, I also know that he's gonna make sure he gets his way." 

That didn't do anything to soothe Tenshi. If anything, it just made her start to actually cry, with loud sobs. It reminded Goku of when Gohan was really little. 

Vegeta and Goku were both at a loss as to what to do. It was the truth, and while letting her potential go to waste honestly pissed Vegeta off, they didn't have many options. 

Trunks tried to comfort her by putting an arm around her. Vegeta turned his head toward Kakarott. 

"How do you _know_ he won't do it again?" 

Kakarott's smile looked a bit different, but Vegeta couldn't ascertain what the expression was trying to say. 

"Gohan loves Piccolo too much to put them both through that again," Kakarott said.

"Hm." 

"What do you know, anyway?" Trunks admonished, drawing Goku's and Vegeta's attention back onto the children. "Tenshi totally would've kicked my butt, then she would've won the tournament instead. You're just giving up before you even tried! At least Piccolo took his chances!" 

Vegeta snorted. "Standing up for your girlfriend, are you?" 

He smirked as he saw Trunks blush furiously. 

"She's not my girlfriend!" 

Vegeta walked past them back to the house, and Goku stood there for a moment, really not knowing what to do about Tenshi crying. 

"It'll be okay, Tenshi. There's other stuff you can do - plenty of stuff! And you can always spar for fun, it can be a granddaughter-grandfather thing when your dad's out, okay?" 

"I don't want it to be a secret anymore!" 

Goku's attempt at a comforting smile fell away at that point. 

"I wanna train with Goten and Trunks like a normal person! I wanna spar and fight just like everybody else! I want Daddy and everybody else to be proud of me!" 

"I want that too, Tenshi.... I wish it could be exactly that way, but it's not...." Goku said. 

That just made Tenshi cry harder. 

"Just go to dinner!" Trunks admonished. Goku shrunk back a little, holding his hands up in surrender, then did just that. 

"Asshole," Trunks muttered under his breath. Then he turned to Tenshi and held her hand tightly. "Who needs them, anyway? You, me, and Goten can train all by ourselves and tell whoever we want, and screw what Gohan or anybody else says." 

Tenshi sniffed and tried to wipe her tears away and calm down enough to actually talk. She coughed hard for a few moments before she could response. Trunks gently rubbed her back as she coughed, just above her oxygen tank. 

"You mean it?" she asked. 

"Of course I do. And whenever we're tired of training or just want to do something else, we can play video games or watch My Little Pony or whatever you want. Okay?" 

Tenshi nodded. "Okay." 

Trunks smiled at her. "C'mon, let's go get some grub. Your grandma said something about a surprise for you." 

"She did?" 

The surprise was cupcake flavored mineral water. A rather expensive brand that Piccolo kept going over the ingredient list on the back of the label to make sure it didn't have anything he didn't want in his daughter's system in it. 

It was delicious, and Tenshi drank it up far too quickly for her own preference.


	34. If That Cart and Bull Tip Over

Goku was bored. 

Life was going back to normal. Gohan was going back to school alongside Videl and his other school friends, Piccolo resumed going to work, and Tenshi and Goten did their lessons and played. Chichi worked in her office and cooked and cleaned when she wasn't doing that. Goku . . . did a minimal amount of house chores, though considering he was going out and hunting and gathering for food again (out of sheer boredom at this point), Chichi wasn't complaining _too_ much. It saved them money. 

_God_ , he was so bored. 

It had been too long since he had sparred. Since he had had a _real_ fight. Gohan refused to spar when he got home from school because he was "tired" and there were rules to training Goten and Tenshi that frustrated him sometimes, and Piccolo refused to spar on work days because he wanted to focus on Tenshi. 

This hum-drum life was so _boring_ , and it was reaching the point where push-ups and sit-ups and beating up homemade punching bags and trees wasn't doing anything for him either. 

He pushed himself back up onto his feet, then went to check up on the kids. 

Goten was doing some kind of puzzle that Gohan and Chichi said was supposed to help him with problem-solving, and Tenshi was sitting at her easel. 

She had been painting during her breaks for the last week. But she didn't seem very happy about it. 

Goku couldn't figure out what the pictures really were, but it was a lot of blue and grey and black with wisps of white here and there. 

Goten looked up as Goku entered the room. 

"Dad!" Goten said, grinning. It was rare when Goku would enter the study room. "Look at how I'm doing!" 

Goku smiled at Goten, but it was a default response. He tended to do that a lot, and he was somewhat aware of it, but he didn't really know why he did that or why it seemed to make those around him content or happy. But it seemed to be working.... What he wanted to work, he wasn't even sure, but it was. 

"That looks great, Goten! Do we know what it's supposed to be?" 

"It makes a picture of a supernova when it's finished." 

"Those are in space, right?" 

"Yeah! And they're really pretty! You've been in space before, right, Dad?" 

"Yup. When I went to Planet Namek." 

"Do you think we'll be able to go as a family sometime?" 

"To Namek?" 

"Space." 

"Sure." 

Goku patted Goten on the head, then went over to Tenshi's easel. He pulled over a chair and sat in it backwards, arms resting on the back of the chair. 

"Hey." 

"Hi," Tenshi said, despondent. 

Goten looked up from the puzzle at her, but Goku knew the boy had tried to cheer her up multiple times over the course of the week, and Goten had had no luck with it. So he just went back to his puzzle for now, just not knowing what to say. 

"What're you painting?" 

"A bird," she said. 

Goku tilted his head, trying to find the bird. It was hard to do. 

"It is?" 

"Yeah. Here's the head. See?" 

She pointed at a spot on the painting, but he really could not see it. 

"What's the bird doing?" 

Goten was looking up from his puzzle, eyebrows furrowing. He could see the painting just fine. It wasn't an abstract painting. 

"It's sitting in a cage." 

"Why's it doing that?" Goku asked. 

"The cage is locked, and it's sad it can't leave," Tenshi said. 

"Is it crying?" 

"Yeah...." 

Goku tilted his head more. He still couldn't see it, but his brain was making other connections. 

"Are you painting that 'cause of what Gohan did?" 

The paint brush snapped in half, and the end with the paint on it flipped through the air and landed on a few pieces of Goten's puzzle. Tenshi hugged herself and pulled her knees up. Her eyes were watering yet again, and Goku furrowed his eyebrows. 

"It's really upsetting you. That you aren't allowed to fight." 

Tenshi nodded, but didn't say anything. There was a silence hanging in the air until Tenshi spoke up again. 

"The li'l birdie loves flying more than anything, but it can't fly, even though it has wings, 'cause it's in the stupid cage...." 

Goku nodded, understanding the metaphor. 

"The bird is meant to fly," Goku said, the wheels in his head turning. "It was literally designed for flying." 

The tears rolled down Tenshi's face, and Goten got up to hug her, leaving the puzzle pieces to be paint-stained. He wrapped his arms around his niece, and she leaned back on her stool into his embrace. 

Goku thought about it some more. 

"But the bird can fly away if we get a key...." Goku said aloud. 

A lightbulb went off in his head, then he grinned. 

"That's it!" 

Tenshi and Goten looked up at Goku as Goku stood up. 

"I know how to fix this! It might take a while to find it, but there's gotta be a way!" 

"What . . . are you talking about?" Goten asked. 

"Grandpa?" 

"I'll be back at some point. I'm gonna find it!"

"Find . . . what?" Tenshi asked. 

"The key to the cage!" 

Goku lifted his fingers to his forehead. 

"Tell Chichi not to worry!" 

He then vanished. Teleported away via the Instant Transmission Technique. 

To where? Tenshi and Goten had no idea. 

They were left sitting there in the middle of their study room, staring at the place Goku had stood. 

It took a while for them to move, but Tenshi decided to help try to clean Goten's puzzle before they went up the stairs to tell Chichi that Goku had left. 

"Grandma?" 

"Hm? What is it, dear?" 

Chichi covered the receiver on the phone. 

"Grandpa left...." 

Chichi sighed. "All right. Did you two finish your recreation time?" 

Tenshi wasn't sure what she was thinking she meant by left, but Tenshi didn't really know what else to say. Neither did Goten. 

"Yes, Mom," Goten said. 

"Then you can pop in the science videos, and I'll be right down to make you both a snack when I'm done with this call, all right?" 

"Okay," Tenshi and Goten said in unison. 

They trudged down the stairs and did as instructed, but neither of them were really paying attention to the lessons on wildlife biology. 

". . . He is coming back, right?" Tenshi asked. 

"Why wouldn't he?" Goten said. 

Neither had an answer. And neither of them had the nerve to mention it to Chichi again.

Gohan and Piccolo managed to arrive home at around the same time, just a few minutes separating the two. 

"Hey Tenshi, Goten. Hey Mom. Where's Dad?" 

"Gone," Goten said, holding onto his glass of juice close to his mouth but not actually sipping from it. 

Gohan seemed to understand exactly what Goten was saying, but the conclusion hadn't quite reached his brain yet. Or he was hoping he was mistaken. 

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" 

"Um. Well...." Goten looked to Tenshi, and Tenshi just shrugged. 

Chichi paused, then looked at the children. 

"He didn't say where he was going?" 

The two children shook their heads. 

"First we were talking about birds...." Goten said. 

"But it wasn't really birds, it was more like a metaphor . . . ?" Tenshi added. 

"And then he just . . . ." 

"Kinda started talking and not making any sense...." 

"And he . . . left." 

"Poof." 

"Gone." 

"Vanished." 

Both children stared at their drinks, nervous about how the adults were going to react. 

Chichi dropped the bowl she was holding. Luckily it fell on the table and didn't break, but Goten and Tenshi had to grab onto the table to keep it from tipping over from the very sudden weight plus force of the impact. She was trembling, and Tenshi had never seen Grandma look so shaken before. 

Goten couldn't figure out who to focus on - his mother or his brother. Chichi collapsed into a nearby chair, and Gohan looked frozen in place. His face hadn't moved from its previous expression, but said expression was fearful and restrained. 

Piccolo reached out to hold Gohan's shoulder, and that seemed to break him. Gohan turned around, face-planted into Piccolo's shirt, and tried not to cry loudly. 

Chichi covered her face with her hands and started sobbing. 

Piccolo turned his head to look at the children. 

"Call Krillin and 18," he said. 

Tenshi got up and went to the phone, and Goten moved from his chair towards Chichi. He reached out his hand and placed it on her elbow. 

"Mommy?" 

Seeing Marron again was nice, but Tenshi and Goten didn't understand what was going on. 

At some point, Goten spoke up. 

"Is . . . is he not coming back?" 

That just made Chichi cry more. 

Goten would speak very sparingly about Goku over the next ten years, and never in front of Chichi. Watching her cry made his stomach hurt real bad. 

They wouldn't see Goku again for ten years.


	35. You'll Still Be the Sweetest Little Baby In Town

Things weren't the same without Goku around. Not to Goten and Tenshi. But for Gohan and Chichi, it was more of the same, a same that they hated with all their heart, and they wished they never had to experience it ever again. That Goten and Tenshi would never have to experience it. 

Piccolo was at a lost as to how he should help. 

Piccolo was at a lost about how he felt. 

He never had the same personal feelings about Goku not being around. If anything, Goku not being around was the entire reason he ever got to be a part of this family. The only reason he ever got to know Gohan. But he knew it hurt both Gohan and Chichi so, and that it was hurting Goten and Tenshi, even if the children didn't understand why as well as the others did. 

It wasn't fair. 

One night, Goten and Tenshi were invited to a sleepover at Trunks's place. Bulma said it was to give Chichi a break so that she could mourn Goku's absence in peace. After Gohan was clued into that, he said that he had plans to study with Videl, then left. Leaving Piccolo and Chichi alone in the house. 

It was something that really never had happened, and Piccolo still didn't know what to do. 

 

Videl knew that Goku had vanished. Gohan hadn't kept it a secret from her or Sharpner or Erasa. It had tempered Gohan's anger and attitude considerably, and Videl was deeply concerned for him. 

She, Erasa, and Sharper had invited him to hang out with them, and he brought his school books as though he just assumed studying would be involved. He made no complaints about leaving them in the car, though, as they headed into the club. No one bothered to card the daughter of Mr. Satan - though Gohan had noticed that Videl's perks were becoming less and less because of her father's prestige and more because of her own. He felt guilty about Mr. Satan's name getting dragged through the mud, but no amount of insisting that Mr. Satan did nothing wrong and didn't deserve to be socially persecuted changed anything. And he didn't dare try to say anything to Videl. She didn't ask, and whenever the subject of her father came up, she got very cross. And Gohan simply didn't have the energy right then. Not with his own father just . . . gone. 

He was a little jealous that Mr. Satan was still trying to make amends with Videl. He obviously loved her. And he felt guilty for using that love for her against the man. 

 

Chichi had never gotten drunk as far as Piccolo was at all aware. But with her children and grandchild out of the house, there was nothing to keep her from pulling the sake out and pouring it into the little cup and drinking it. Piccolo just watched her from his perch across the kitchen, nursing his water. He didn't know what to say, and he didn't even know if he should stay. But it felt wrong to leave her completely by herself. When the reason she was sad was because she had been left behind. Again. 

Time seemed to creep by, and Chichi was crying, and Piccolo still didn't know what to do. Slowly, he moved and stepped up beside her. He took off his cape and wrapped it around her, then placed an arm around her shoulders. Chichi leaned into his touch. 

"Why?" she sobbed. "Why must he always go away? There aren't even any bad guys this time. Why now? Why?" 

He didn't have any answers for her. 

 

Gohan, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner were all under the drinking age, but again, Videl's perks ended up getting them under-the-table freebees. Erasa talked Videl into getting them a drink each. Having never had alcohol before, Gohan drank it carefully and found that however much was in it quickly took effect. Videl said something about making sure they gave them the minimal amount of alcohol, and Gohan made the decision to never consume alcohol after tonight. But for a night just hanging out with his friends, he'd be okay. He just felt . . . lethargic and a bit sleepy. He doubted this was what being drunk felt like. 

Sharpner and Erasa seemed to be holding up a bit better, not looking the least bit sleepy. Videl, on the other hand, yawned rather loudly and rested her cheek atop her fist. 

Erasa giggled. "C'mon let's go dancing, you'll be able to stay awake that way!" 

Erasa grabbed Gohan's hand, and Sharpner attempted to do the same with Videl, but Videl smacked his hand away and chased after Erasa and Gohan. 

"Wait a minute!" she called out. 

Sharpner shook his head and leaned back in his chair. 

Somehow, it ended up with Videl and Gohan dancing, though perhaps it shouldn't be called dancing. They were mostly moving steadily and trying not to yawn. But in any case, they were holding each other's hands and standing rather close together. 

They were just tired enough that they didn't realize at first that they had somehow lost Erasa and Sharpner (or did Erasa and Sharpner lose them?), and they stopped swaying back and forth to look around and try to see if they could see them. 

Gohan yawned, which made Videl yawn. 

"Alcohol was a bad idea," Gohan said. 

"Yep," Videl agreed. They both sat down in available chairs and stared ahead. The chairs were pretty close together, and they were still holding hands. 

They stayed there for longer than either of them realized. Videl slowly rested her head on Gohan's shoulder, and Gohan didn't move or say anything about it. 

"I'm sorry about the stuff with your dad," Gohan said slowly. 

Videl scrunched up her face. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." 

"It's kinda my fault. I told him I'd tell everyone he didn't kill Cell if he didn't help me...." 

"Yeah, well, he just should've sucked it up and . . . wait, what?" 

Videl turned her head to look up at Gohan. 

"Your dad never beat Cell. He . . . says he got a stomach ache when Cell proved he was much stronger...." 

". . . How do you know that?" 

"I'm the kid from the Cell Games. . . . Dad had sent me up out there to fight him. . . . It wasn't a food order like everyone keeps saying. . . ." 

Videl's eyes widened. 

"He made you fight that monster?" By he, she meant Goku. 

"Yeah...." 

She didn't prod any further. She didn't ask who actually won the Cell Games. At that point, it truly didn't matter. Her friend had been forced to fight a monster at eleven years old, and she was horrified. 

She didn't feel tired anymore as she lifted her head up to look at him better. 

"You've been through a lot. Haven't you?" 

"I guess so...." Gohan was quiet for a bit, then he snorted. "When the Cell Games were approaching, I was so, _so_ worried that I was gonna die without having kissed anybody. And even at eleven, I was so, so in love with Piccolo.... It didn't occur to me that it would be inappropriate for him and me to, to do anything, y'know? I was just a kid, I didn't think about that stuff. I just knew I liked him, and . . . and being told by him that he didn't think of me that way hurt. But then . . . then we shared that water bottle after a training session, and I have the sweetest little girl.... I love them both to death.... Still no kiss, though. Still no . . . love life, really. I mean . . . Piccolo loves me, but . . . ." 

"You don't know if it's the same way." 

"I know it's not." At least he was pretty sure it wasn't. There had been that conversation at the hospital, but.... "And it's fine. I get it. He's too old for me. He's twenty-one and I'm seventeen. He won't stop being too old for me for . . . I dunno, how many years?" 

Videl shrugged. "'Til 21 and 25? 25 to 29? 30 to 34? Yeah, 30 to 34 sounds about right." 

Gohan groaned in a pathetic manner. 

"I dun wanna wait 'til I'm 30 to get kissed...." 

Videl was quiet for a moment. Then, "You don't have to wait." 

Gohan looked down at her, eyebrows knitted together. "I don't?" 

Videl blushed a little bit. "You - you could kiss me, if you want." 

 

Chichi was grabbing the front of Piccolo's gi, and Piccolo wasn't sure what she was doing. 

"It's not fair! It's not fair that he's never here! It's not fair that you're so good with the children and can only be Tenshi's father! It's not fair that - ugh, I don't even know what I'm saying!" 

She let go of him, and he didn't say anything or move away from her. Chichi took a few deep breaths. 

"They need a father! You've - you've been so good with Gohan and Goten that's it's just - it's not fair!" 

Piccolo frowned, understanding now what she was wishing she could ask of him. 

Had his heart not already made a decision, he might even have taken her up on the request she wasn't making. 

"Even if you weren't hopelessly in love with Gohan at this point, it still wouldn't be fair, because _he_ loves you with all he's got, and what kind of a mother would I be?!" 

He understood she was just frustrated and sad and wishing she had a readily available replacement for Goku. He understood she was sick and tired of it all. 

"NONE OF THIS IS FAIR!" 

Chichi threw the sake bottle against the wall, and it shattered into tiny pieces, and neither of them felt bad about it. Piccolo would clean it up later. 

 

Videl's lips felt soft against Gohan's, and it did feel nice. It was dry and sweet and short, but as they parted and Gohan opened his eyes, a sudden wave of guilt sloshed over his stomach. It wasn't a physical sensation. 

Videl could see the look on Gohan's face, and she felt just as bad. 

"I - I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - " Videl started, but Gohan shook his head. 

"It's more my fault than yours." 

"But...." But she had made a decision not to get in between Gohan and Piccolo and now look what she did! She promised, for Tenshi! What was she doing!? 

"No, really. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I can't . . . make this easier for anybody." He truly loved Piccolo. He liked Videl, but he _loved_ Piccolo, and even if . . . even if he never got to kiss Piccolo like a lover or hold him like one, it still wasn't right to betray that love. 

That was how Gohan saw it, and he was ashamed of himself and ashamed of himself for yet again pulling Videl into his mess. 

"I'm sorry," Gohan said again, and he felt the tears sting his eyes, and he wanted to go home. 

 

No more wishy-washy nonsense. No more sitting on a fence. No more leaving Gohan's feelings dangling. 

Piccolo still wanted nothing to do with sex with Gohan, but he really, truly did love the boy with all his heart. He loved Gohan and Tenshi equally, and he . . . he did want to spend the rest of his days with the boy. He wanted with Gohan what Chichi wanted with Goku. Even if it resulted in a lot of pain. 

He was willing to go through it for Gohan. 

When Gohan got home, the sake bottle was cleaned up, Chichi had taken a shower and was laying asleep in bed. Gohan looked like he had been crying. 

"Piccolo, I . . . I did something I shouldn't have tonight." 

Piccolo stepped towards him. "What was it?" 

He brought a hand up to brush a bit of hair out of Gohan's face. 

Gohan's face was flushing. 

"I used Videl to get something I wanted from you. It wasn't fair to her." 

"Something you wanted from me?" 

Gohan nodded. "A - a kiss." 

Piccolo understood. He remembered their first conversation about kisses all those years ago, and he understood what kisses meant in human culture. 

He understood what Gohan really wanted from him. 

"Is Videl all right?" 

"I don't know." 

"Are you all right?" 

"No. I - I know you don't love me that way, but I feel like I betrayed you." 

Piccolo cupped Gohan's cheek in his hand. 

"I don't think you've betrayed me. But there's . . . something that has changed since we last talked about this." 

Gohan's eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?" 

"Gohan. . . . Would you like to have another baby with me?" 

Gohan's eyes widened further, and he blushed more. 

"Yes," he breathed out. 

Piccolo pulled Gohan closer to him, gently holding onto him. Gohan slowly brought a hand up to rest on the side of Piccolo's neck. Gohan gathered some spit in his mouth, then wetted his lips with it. Piccolo darted his tongue out to gather the saliva, then brought the tongue back into his mouth and gently kissed Gohan's lips. 

It was the Namekian equivalent of a sperm donation. Not even considered to be sex by Namekians due to how soft it was and how minimal the contact with Namekian genitalia was. 

But Piccolo, now that he was paying attention, could practically feel the DNA fertilizing an egg and expected that he would be hacking the egg up by tomorrow morning. 

There was a risk that it would also have trouble breathing or trouble with other things, like Tenshi did. But they loved her more than anything, and Piccolo was going to take care of him (or her) just as he did with his unexpectedly disabled child. 

 

Chichi swore off men and romance the next morning as her headache throbbed. She was done. She was through with crying over her husband. If she ever saw him again, she would let him have it. _They_ were over. 

 

Videl felt significant guilt, and she had a hard time forgiving herself for the little kiss. When told, Erasa tried to tell her to just let it go, that it didn't hurt anybody. But it hurt Videl. She had made that promise to herself, for Tenshi's sake, and she went and broke it. Just who did she think she was? 

For about two months, she hadn't been able to forgive herself. Then she threw herself too hard into another romantic interest. 

Piccolo and Gohan's second child would be almost a year older than Videl's daughter. Videl graduated in robes that just barely hid the fact that she was quite well along with her pregnancy. 

She and Mr. Satan made up, and Mr. Satan spoiled his grandbaby like crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the ten year time-skip. Chapter titles will be song titles that various characters enjoy. The character who each song belongs to will be in parentheses next to the song title. You'll also get to meet ten-year-old Pan and her Namekian friend.


	36. Stay The Night by Zedd feat. Hayley Williams (Tenshi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years go by....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces Dominion. He actually started out as an original character of mine in a roleplay I did with Nemesi a.k.a. Necchan seven years ago on a Trunks x Goten forum. I still have the rp in my possession and sometimes read over it, and I really wanted to use Dominion in something again, especially since his character arc in the roleplay was never finished. But he's very different in this fic, though some themes from his original storyline remain. In other words, this is an alternate reality version of Dominion from his original timeline. 
> 
> If you're reading this, Necchan, hi and I love you!

The years went by, and Chichi was steadily growing into feeling better and feeling comfortable in being by herself. Though she wasn't entirely by herself, she had her children and grandchildren and . . . her son-in-law. She was still getting used to thinking of Piccolo as a son-in-law officially, but Ox King had helped Piccolo pick out a suitable ring for an heir to the (no longer _as_ valuable) Ox kingdom throne. Ox King also helped Piccolo buy the ring, since all of Piccolo's earnings went to supporting Tenshi and the rest of the family. Since Piccolo had started supporting the Sons (with Chichi's help and Gohan's help after he finished his PhD program), Ox King had been able to focus more on keeping the kingdom and his treasury stable and intact so that he could occasionally splurge on a big purchase like a wedding ring. 

The actual wedding had been on a much smaller scale than Goku and Chichi's wedding, but Piccolo had literally never seen a wedding before and had no expectations for it. While Gohan knew what it was and what it typically looked like, both Gohan and Piccolo didn't care it wasn't a lavish wedding and was really just their family and a few of their friends (the Briefs, Krillin, 18, and Marron, and Videl, her daughter, and Mr. Satan). It was beautiful enough with just them and the modest decorations and the cake that Chichi baked. 

Gohan became a college professor, and his salary from that, in combination with the money from Piccolo's bodyguard job and Chichi's at-home office job, meant that some things became easier to provide and that they could think about more frivolous things. 

Like planning a trip to New Namek so that Tenshi and Tenshi's little brother, Dominion, could meet more Namekians like them and learn more about their culture. 

Dende got rather excited when he heard that they were wanting to do that, and he had wanted to go, but Mr. Popo reminded him of his Guardian of Earth duties and that he had to stay at the Lookout. 

"Is there anybody you want to say hi to in particular, Dende? We can give you a message. Hey, we can even bring them back with us if you want to see them," Gohan offered. 

Dende ended up writing up a long, long letter for his brother, Cargo, and they took it with them on the trip. 

In the space ship, Tenshi was playing with the iPad that Trunks had given her for her birthday while Goten played a variety of old clapping games, like Miss Mary Mack, with his nephew (her little brother), Dominion. 

Dominion was equally as bald as his older sister, but he didn't have a nasal cannula or oxygen tank. He was, however, lacking fangs entirely, having gaps between his teeth where they should have been; he simply hadn't been born with them. Since he didn't need to eat, it wasn't a problem, though he sometimes found it hard to keep the water in his mouth if he wasn't careful. His other medical issue was similarly as problematic and complicated as Tenshi's breathing problems. Dominion, instead of having faulty lungs, had a faulty heart, and the Briefs had voluntarily fitted the bill and made sure that there existed a pacemaker for him. He sometimes needed check-ups to make sure there weren't any problems with it or its electromagnetism, and Dr. Briefs had built him a special space suit so that going into space wouldn't cause any problems for him, and he was wearing it right then as he played with Goten. 

"Are we there yet?" Tenshi asked, looking up from the iPad, on which she was playing a game called Clumsy Ninja. 

"Almost," Gohan assured her, leaning over the dashboard to double-check. 

Piccolo was meditating, ears occasionally twitching as he listened to what the others were doing. 

Goten and Dominion paused their game, then Goten stood up and walked over to stand behind Gohan. 

"Whoa - ! Tenshi, Dominion, come see this!" 

Tenshi put the iPad away, and she and Dominion walked to see out the window. Tenshi's eyes widened. 

"Holy ....!" 

"Language," Gohan warned. 

Dominion maneuvered so that he could see, and he was in equal amounts of awe. 

New Namek was within their sights, and it was . . . it was _beautiful_. A sphere of blue and green.... 

"That's where Mommy's from?" Dominion asked. 

"It's where your grandfather is from," Piccolo said, moving from his meditating position. "I was born on Earth. But this is where the Namekians live." 

It was easier to say it that way than to explain about Frieza. He also didn't want Dominion to know about the cruelty of the world just yet. He was a very gentle soul, and Piccolo - for lack of a better term - had softened up quite a bit since those days. 

They all buckled up when it came time to land. Dominion adjusted his space suit, and Tenshi made sure her oxygen tank was set so that it wouldn't break under pressure. 

Landing was a bit rough, but they made it in one piece and didn't break anything outside of the ship, either. So once the ship was parked and turned off, they emerged from the ship and surveyed the area, looking for the first available village. 

They found it soon enough, and the next few hours were a bit of a whirlwind, but a fun whirlwind. 

Many of the Namekians recognized Piccolo and Gohan, and introducing the family was rather interesting. 

"Gohan! Piccolo! Oh my gosh, it's been so long! And who is with you?" 

"Hey! Yeah, it really has been! These are my family - my mom, Chichi, my little brother, Goten, and my children, Tenshi and Dominion." 

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you again," Chichi said. 

"Hi!" Goten greeted. 

Tenshi raised her hand when her name was spoken, smiling. "Sup?" 

Dominion was partially hiding behind his mother. 

The looks on their faces when they realized that Tenshi and Dominion were half-Namekian was . . . amusing. They were rather fascinated by the fact that Namekians could apparently cross-breed outside of their own race (though there was steadily some murmuring about "we should've expected that, what with the...." 

Both Tenshi and Dominion suddenly found a lot of Namekians of various sizes in their faces, the other children more easily able to get into Dominion's face than Tenshi's. Tenshi raised an eyebrow at them. 

"Excuse you," she said, her voice deep much like her mother's. Puberty had made her voice and body distinctly male-looking, as all Namekian bodies did, and she compensated by dressing super feminine. So she was standing there in a pink dress with lots of bows and lace that she could still hike up and fight in if necessary, with a pink band around her head, arms crossing against her chest and exhibiting an air of "you better step back before I clock one of you." 

Years of dealing with overly inquisitive and rude human boys had made her rather intolerant to up-close ogling. 

Dominion did not have nearly the same intimidating presence as his older sister, so despite feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden attention drawn onto him, he didn't say anything. 

The adults at least backed off when they realized they were invading Tenshi's space. 

"Oh, sorry! Very sorry, we just . . . ." 

"Don't know what that thing on your face is...." 

Tenshi looked around the village and accepted that answer. They did not appear to be nearly as technologically advanced as Earth, though judging from the house structures, it was possible their technological advances were just different, not primitive. It would be wrong to make that assumption just because they were unfamiliar with her technology. 

"It's called a nasal cannula. It's attached to a tank on my back that carries air for me to breathe in it. I can't breathe without it." 

"Have all of you entirely lost your manners? This is not how we treat guests!" boomed Moori's voice over the crowd, and Gohan and Piccolo both smiled when they saw him and Cargo approach them. 

"Hello again, Moori," Piccolo said. 

"Cargo! I have a letter from Dende for you!" Gohan said, holding it up. 

"Really!?" 

Cargo ran to Gohan and took the letter, ecstatic to hear from his older brother. 

The Namekians calmed down a bit after that, giving Dominion and Tenshi more space, and things went more smoothly after that. (Though when they realized Dominion was missing teeth, the children rather rudely asked why, and he just said he wasn't born with them.) 

Gohan, Goten, and Chichi had brought food to last them for the trip, so when the time came, they ate while the Namekians talked over drinks. 

A young adult Namekian sat himself beside Tenshi and offered her a gourd of water. 

"My name is Hammer. I'm a healer in training here. What do you do on Earth? Tenshi, right?" 

"Right," Tenshi said, smiling. "I'm still in high school right now, but in my free time I paint or do martial arts training with Goten and Trunks."

"Against all reason," Gohan interjected, giving her a bit of a look. Tenshi gestured her father away, indicating that he should mind his own business. 

"You're a fighter?" Hammer asked, wanting to clarify. 

"Not . . . officially. I enjoy fighting, and I would _love_ to do it for realsies, but," Tenshi pointed at the nasal cannula. "My breathing gets in the way, and I can't regenerate or heal myself. So doing anything more than recreational sparring with my buddies is dangerous." 

"Oh dear...." 

Tenshi shrugged. "It's okay. I've always liked painting just about as much. It's a lot of fun. You do know what that is, right?" 

"I . . . cannot be sure." 

"It's when you take paint and make a picture out of it." 

"Oh! So it's like drawing?" 

"Yeah, kinda. Drawing is actually the first step, 'cause I have to sketch it first." 

They continued to talk about that, Tenshi learning some about Namekian tech and Namekian culture and Hammer learning about Earthling ways and inventions. 

Dominion mostly sat there, feeling rather uncomfortable, but he knew it was because of his unfamiliar surroundings and having so many people around who he had no idea who they were, really. He mostly stuck to Piccolo's side and hid his face whenever any adults tried to talk to him. 

The trip lasted a few days, then they had to go back home. By the end of the trip, Hammer had made friends with both Tenshi and Goten (he and Goten bonding over teaching and learning about Namekian plantlife), Dominion had loosened up enough to learn a few Namekian children's games and taught them Miss Mary Mack, and Gohan had caught up with the now-adult children he used to play with when he was a child. 

On the trip back home, Gohan let Chichi have the wheel and checked up on his little brother and children. 

"So how'd you three like it?" he asked. 

"It's really cool there! Do you think we'll visit again?" Goten asked. 

"Not right away, but yeah, sure," Gohan said. "Tenshi? Dominion?" 

"They were pretty cool. I dunno about an extended stay or something - I like my Capsule Corp tech too much for that - but it'll be nice to see some of them again." Tenshi said. 

Goten grinned. "Tenshi got a crush?"

"Go fuck yourself," Tenshi said jokingly. 

" _Tenshi_!" Gohan scolded. Tenshi laughed. 

"They were nice," Dominion said quietly; the boy had a hard time speaking up. "I prefer playing with Pan, though." 

One thing that Tenshi and Goten just weren't mentioning was a plant that Hammer had shown them. 

_"And here we have the Procreatio Anti flower. Place the petals over the vaginal opening in the back of your throat, and no fertilized eggs from mouth-to-mouth oral."_

_"You serious!?"_

_"Yup!"_

_"C-Can I take some of that home?"_

_Goten tried not to smirk or giggle. He saw that coming the moment Hammer said what it was for._

_"Sure! Just remember, if it's penis-to-mouth, it doesn't work."_

_"Gotcha. Thanks, dude!"_

_"Ha ha, don't mention it!"_

Goten could envision exactly what was going to happen when they got back on Earth, and it was going to drive Gohan crazy. 

Right now, Goten was easily amused by the idea of Gohan freaking out about Tenshi making out with people. It wouldn't last.


	37. Without Me by Eminem (Trunks)

The walls of the Gravity Room vibrated with the music from Trunks's iPod, turned up as loud as Vegeta would allow. Trunks had a lot of rap, hip hop, and pop on his playlist, and if it was Nicki Minaj, Vegeta "tolerated" it (read: secretly adored it). The two Saiyans sparred in the GR, fists flying and Nicki's characteristic laugh echoing. 

The music cut out when Bulma appeared on the communicator screen. 

"Trunks, Vegeta, lunch is ready! And Goten and Tenshi are back from their trip to New Namek!" 

Trunks, distracted, got a punch to the face but really couldn't care as he then dashed to grab his iPod from the USB port, then dashed out of the GR. 

Vegeta landed on the ground, then went over to the communication screen. 

"Just the two brats?" 

"No, Chichi's here and brought Dominion, and Videl dropped Pan off just a little while ago." 

"Hmph." 

Vegeta left the GR, then grabbed a couple of towels on his way into the house. 

As expected, Trunks was high-fiving and attempting to hug his best friends, but Tenshi was leaning far out of his reach, purely due to how the other sixteen-year-old was super sweaty and a bit smelly. 

"You ain't touching me until you've had a bath!" Tenshi said. 

"Aw, c'mon! You've been gone forever!" 

"It was a week, Trunks," Goten laughed. 

"Like I said, forever," Trunks said. 

In some ways, they hadn't really changed since they were children. They were just taller with deeper voices, though the change in Tenshi felt like it was more dramatic. She had gone from just a bit shorter than Trunks and Goten to being taller by at least three inches, if not five, and having the deepest voice out of all of them. While pink hadn't been too plentiful in her wardrobe before, after puberty had evened out, it was suddenly taking up most of her wardrobe. Today must've been laundry day because instead of her typical dresses, she was in a hot pink oversized T-shirt and yellow short-shorts. (Vegeta was fairly certain Tenshi had learned Piccolo's clothes beam technique, which would mean that the clothes beam was more magic and less ki-related. He doubted Piccolo would ever conjure up something like short-shorts for his daughter.) Trunks stuck with the dark colors, mostly blues and blacks, with an occasional splash of yellow. Goten, on the other hand, was a fashion disaster and made his own T-shirts on online customizers. Looking at the shirts honestly gave Vegeta a _bit_ of a headache, but it was nothing compared to Bulma's permanently raised eyebrow in Goten's direction. Neon colors were typical in his wardrobe, so white, green, and yellow shirts with ratty jeans were typical for Goten. 

"So how was the trip?" Trunks asked, sitting down after giving up on hugging Tenshi (Goten had accepted the hug with no complaints). 

Tenshi and Goten sat down at the table too. Chichi already was sitting, and they could hear Dominion, Bra, and Pan in the other room, though they couldn't really hear what they were saying exactly. 

"It was really cool! Their irrigation system is really complex!" Goten said. Tenshi snorted. 

"You're such a nerd," she said. 

"I was just paying attention," Goten said. "To more than the gardener's ass, that is." 

Tenshi shoved Goten, sending his opposite shoulder colliding with Trunks's. 

"He's not a gardener, he's a healer."

"Technically both, considering he grew the stuff himself." 

"Meh." 

"Anyway, their tech isn't anything like the tech here, but it's not inferior at all, it's really really cool and clever! And their tech either works on solar power or magic! Which, as far as I can tell, is just what they call science." 

"Then scientifically explain the clothes beam." 

"Ahh...." 

Something about Trunks had cooled the moment Goten had been shoved into him. Or rather, the moment that Goten mentioned the gardener's ass, though the instances had occurred so closely together that it might've been difficult to distinguish between the two. Vegeta took note of it, but didn't spend time thinking about it right then. He focused on eating his food and vaguely listening to the conversation around him. 

"Who's the gardener?" Trunks asked eventually. 

"A Namekian named Hammer. He was really cool and showed us around his medicinal garden. Even showed us what Namekian birth control is like!" 

"Not by example, I hope," Chichi said warningly. 

"Of course not, Mom, he just talked about it!" Goten said, blushing. 

"It's a special kind of flower petal, apparently. The nectar makes the petals super sticky, so it sticks to the vaginal opening - " Tenshi said, and Chichi and Bulma promptly started coughing, preventing Tenshi from finishing that thought. The teenagers just stared at them funny, and Vegeta didn't give two shits if they wanted to be embarrassed by the conversation or not. He didn't get why vagina talk had to be a private thing he and Bulma discussed when the kids weren't around or when the kids needed The Talk. Humans were weird. 

"Was there anything else you got to do there?" Bulma asked, changing the subject entirely. 

 

In the other room, Dominion was listening to Pan's story about the trip she had taken over the weekend, having already finished his story about New Namek. Though as a ten-year-old, he didn't go into too many details, especially since he was shy and much preferred listening to Pan over talking about himself. 

Namekian puberty was starting a little early for him, and while he wasn't paying too much attention to how his body was changing, he was paying attention to how increasingly cute Pan was. 

Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs were half-watching the children and half-discussing something to do with robots and Capsule Corp business stuff. 

"The weekend was great! I gotta hang out with my dad, and he let me ride on his motorcycle - Mom doesn't like it when we do that, but it's so much fun! And I got to meet his biker buddies and tried Shirley Temples and watched as he got his new tattoo!" 

Dominion had only read about people like Pan's dad. He went by Diablo, but it was unclear on whether or not that was his real name or not. He was part of a biker gang, and it was very . . . unclear how he and Videl had hooked up, but Dominion didn't know a lot of things, like exactly how his own parents had met and where his grandfather was supposed to be. Dominion hadn't met the man, but he imagined that he looked like one of the Puerto Ricans from West Side Story. 

"What's a Shirley Temple?" Dominion asked. 

"It's a soda with syrup in it! It came with an orange slice on the glass and an umbrella and straw! Hey, do you think you can drink that stuff? 'Cause you should totally try it sometime, it's delicious!" 

"I've had one of those!" Bra said, grinning. "They're soooooo good!" 

"Why's it called a Shirley Temple?" 

"Dad says it was named after an actress." 

"Oh. Okay." 

Pan went on and on about her biking adventure, and then about how she'd love to have a motorbike when she was old enough, and Dominion tried to focus on her words instead of the cute way her smile would reach her eyes and the way she'd throw her hair back over her shoulder. Bra interjected with a lot of "that's so cool!" and stories about wrapping her own daddy around her little finger. 

Dominion thought to himself that it'd be weird to think her this cute if she was still nine, but she had turned ten just a little while ago. But with how far apart they were in age, he'd be a year older than her again sooner rather than later, and he wondered if it'd be weird for an eleven-year-old to be crushing on a ten-year-old. 

Oh dear, what if it was a bad thing and Daddy found out and got mad and said he couldn't see Pan anymore? That would ruin all the things. 

"Hey, are you listening?" 

"Huh?" 

Pan shook her head. "You silly boy, you always get that look on your face when you've found something to be paranoid about. You gotta loosen up a bit! Stop thinking about everything that can go wrong in the world! Life's a lot more carefree and fun than that!" 

"If you say so...." 

Pan giggled. "It is, trust me!" 

 

Eventually, Goten, Tenshi, Chichi, and Dominion went home, and soon Videl picked Pan up once she got off work. Ordinarily, Videl had a nanny looking after Pan, but she had wanted her daughter to spend time with her friend, and Mr. Satan had needed to work that day, too. 

That left Trunks, Bulma, Vegeta, Dr. Briefs, Bra, and Mrs. Briefs to their own devices. 

Trunks was laying on his bed in his room with his earbuds in his ears, clearly pouting. Vegeta passed his room, then doubled back to look at him. He took a moment to take in the boy's body position and the look on his face and sighed heavily. 

"Can you hear me right now?" He was not going to repeat himself. 

Trunks took one earbud out. 

"If you haven't challenged any of her suitors to a fight, you have no right to be mopey about it. She has made no promise to you, and you are not entitled to it without making any kind of effort for it. And you have to _win_ the fight to have any right to even approach her in a sexual manner. I will not have a son who does not observe proper Saiyan sexual conduct. Have I made myself clear?" 

Trunks was aware of what Vegeta meant. It had been a sub talk to The Talk he had gotten from both of them (mostly Bulma). Vegeta had gone through the ins and outs of Saiyan mating rituals and what was expected of him in order to properly behave himself in a respectable manner. In other words, while Vegeta had adapted to human culture over the years, there were things that he was not budging on, and Trunks's "courtship rules" were one of them. 

Rule 1: You Never Ever Ever Cross That Line if You Have Not Proven Yourself Superior in Strength to Other Suitors. If No Suitors, Prove Yourself Stronger than Enemies. 

Trunks couldn't challenge someone on _another planet_ who might not even technically be a suitor. So he was stuck there, glaring at the ceiling with Eminem in his ears at an ill-advised volume, feeling the jealousy bubbling in the pit of his stomach. 

"You've made yourself clear, but I have no idea what you mean. Who said I was jealous? She can stare at whatever booty she wants. I don't care." 

Vegeta gave Trunks a look, and Trunks ignored it. He then rolled his eyes and walked off, conveniently ignoring the times he himself was a giant tsundere. 

He had a feeling this would be the Movie Theatre Incident all over again.


	38. CrushCrushCrush by Paramore (Tenshi)

Everyone was doing the usual routine within a few weeks, Gohan and Piccolo working, Chichi being a housewife while also doing her in-home business, Goten and Tenshi attending high school with Trunks, and Dominion doing his lessons at home. 

High school meant Tenshi being forced to use the men's room instead of the women's because the human girls refused to pee in the same bathroom as her. While that meant that Goten and Trunks didn't have to leave her side to pee, it also meant a lot of jeers and comments from human boys. It was a full fest of invalidating Tenshi's gender and making fun of her because of her choice in clothes because they saw her as male, saw her as a cross-dresser, and no amount of clothes and make-up would ever fix that. But she liked her baby blue eyeshadow and nail polish; it contrasted well with the pink. 

She was used to it, but if anyone crossed the line or just pissed her off more than usual one day, they'd get a punch to the face, and they all knew it by then. 

Goten would pull his hair back into a ponytail with a pink scrunchy on the bad days, as a way of trying to be supportive to his niece, but there really wasn't anything any of them could do about it, outside of breaking noses and causing bruises. And that always came with detention. 

_That said_ , detention meant Gohan, Piccolo, and Chichi got involved, and the school administration did not want another parent-teacher meeting with them again. 

It was an unpredictable power balance, but Tenshi knew how to focus on her studies, even the ones she found utterly boring. She wasn't as smart as her father was, and neither was Goten, and Trunks surpassed both of them in the intellect department. But they got good grades, and that was enough for them (though listening to Chichi and Gohan give study tips was always a little annoying after the 500th time). 

Either way, they were reaching that age where they really needed to start planning what they were going to do once they graduated. Did they want to pursue further education? Was Trunks going to work for Capsule Corp. like everyone was assuming, or do something else? What did Tenshi and Goten want to do, anyway? 

Whenever asked the question, Goten would start to stammer and scratch his cheek, then rub the back of his neck and laugh nervously. He had no idea. 

Whenever Tenshi was asked, a flash of pain always crossed her face, and she tried to cover it up with a forced smile. "A painter," she'd say, but everyone who knew her knew she wanted to say "a fighter." It wasn't that she didn't like art anymore, she still enjoyed it and it was her second favorite pastime. But it wasn't the same. 

Neither were very lucrative, money-wise, so both Tenshi and Goten would probably need to be working day jobs of some sort, anyway. 

All those concerns didn't bother them on their day off during the school year, though. Sunday was Fun Day, and Trunks had a place he wanted to show them. 

"It's really hoppin', and they have really good music, and the bar is super fly and - "

"Trunks, I swear you're the only one who talks like that in this day and age," Goten joked. 

"Am not!" But he was blushing either way. 

"And we're too young to drink alcohol," Tenshi pointed out, smirking. 

"They sell non-alcoholic ones! Anyway, there's dancing, and it'll be real fun. Wanna go?" 

"Sure," Goten said. 

"People hook up at clubs, don't they?" Tenshi said, the wheels turning in her head. 

"Uh, yeah, I guess, if that's your thing," Trunks said, a little cagey. "But if you wanna meet someone real cool, I know the DJ and can introduce you guys." 

"Awesome! Yeah, let's go!" Goten said. 

Tenshi's smirk widened. "Yeah, okay. When we going?" 

 

The music was booming, and Tenshi had stuffed her ears with earplugs before they arrived, but she could feel the vibrations in her body and her chest, and she was vibrating. She could feel the vibrations through her air tank on her back as well, and she wasn’t sure if she should be frightened or - ecstatic. 

Parties with girls and booze they were too young for, but no one was going to prevent the son of the owner of Capsule Corp entry to anywhere. They had the black X’s on their hands to show that they weren’t of age, so Tenshi knew what to look for on other people’s hands.

It was different from anything either Tenshi and Goten had ever really experienced, and Tenshi was excited to explore. She really hadn’t changed too much from when she was younger, though she liked to think she had matured some. 

But there was still so much she hadn’t experienced yet in life, and she was aiming to do things she had never thought she could until now.

She pulled out the special flower petals she had brought with her and popped them into her mouth and swallowed while manipulating her tongue to make sure they covered and stuck over the third hole in the back of her throat in the middle - the left one being connected to her lungs and the right one being her esophagus. 

Certain that it was in place, she let Trunks and Goten do what they wished - flirt with girls and meet the DJ, probably - and floated off to meet some new people. 

She avoided people who looked far too old (because old was nasty and Daddy would murder anyone at little as three years older than her) and eventually set her eyes on someone who seemed to be around her own age. The black X on the guy’s hand confirmed it. 

The music was far too loud for conversation, but that wasn’t what she was interested in anyway. He was cute, and she wanted to have fun. 

Meanwhile, Trunks and Goten had found the DJ table and Trunks waved at his friend. There was quite a bit of shouting over the music at each other, Trunks introducing them and explaining what his friend was doing and Goten asking Trunks questions.

Goten looked around for a moment, then nudged Trunks to get his attention again. 

“Where’s Tenshi?” Goten yelled. 

Trunks and Goten surveyed the crowd of dancers, then left the DJ table to go in search of her. 

Thanks to the ability to sense ki, it wasn’t too hard to find her. However . . . .

Trunks’s eyes widened as he saw Tenshi making out with a random dude she clearly must have just met. Despite also being her first kiss (it had to be, Trunks and Goten had grown up with her after all, and it had been drilled into their heads that they were never to even share food or drink or anything like that with her once she hit puberty, for fear of her getting Namekian pregnant), spit was dripping from her mouth and her tongue was clearly inside of the dude’s mouth. 

Soon all Trunks could see was red. 

Goten had no chance to stop him before Trunks grabbed the random stranger, then punched him right in the nose. Blood spurted and stained his knuckles and flecked onto his jacket, and the guy flew across the dance floor, taking a few people with him and ultimately crashing into the opposite wall. Groaning and twitching showed that the guy was still alive, but it was still hardly a fair punch. 

Tenshi blinked, saliva dripping from her lip, then she glared at Trunks. 

“The hell was that for!?” 

Trunks grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the exit, ignoring the stares they were now getting. 

“Let go of me!” 

She pulled herself out of Trunks’s grip and stepped away from him, putting her hands on her hips. But Goten then pushed her from behind and urged the two of them to get out as soon as possible. 

“Before the cops show up, let’s go!” 

Tenshi growled under her breath, but they left quickly. 

Once outside - and far away from the club - the three of them stopped to actually talk and cool down. Not that Tenshi wanted to cool down, oh no. 

“Seriously, what the hell, Trunks!? What were you thinking!?” 

“Me? What were YOU thinking!? You’re the one who can get pregnant through kissing!” 

“I _told_ you about the birth control I learned about on New Namek when I visited! I came perfectly prepared!” 

“You _planned_ on kissing a random stranger!?” 

“Why not!? It’s not like it actually means anything!” 

Goten frowned. Tenshi had been going in the opposite philosophy than the one she had had when they were little children and she had been terribly upset that Gohan and Piccolo were not sexually involved back then. While Goten himself had no problems with that, he knew it was something Gohan was going to _hate_ hearing about.

But Trunks seemed rather overly upset by this, and Goten wasn’t really sure why. 

“Well, yeah, but - ! But Gohan’s gonna flip!” 

“Oh yeah? Who’s gonna tell him?”

Trunks seemed to be teetering between dropping the conversation and shouting “I will!” but no one actually wanted to make that threat because Gohan would throw the biggest fit. And not following through made you a prissy pants that Vegeta would be disappointed in later. 

“C’mon you guys….. We can’t lose our tempers like this. I mean . . . Trunks could’ve killed that guy. He’s probably gonna need plastic surgery, and there were cameras back there, Trunks is gonna get sued at the very least…..” Goten said, trying to be reasonable. 

But they were both angry. And confused. 

“Why do you care, anyway?” Tenshi asked, crossing her arms. “It’s not like you’re my boyfriend or anything!” 

Goten’s eyes widened as he realized that Trunks was _jealous_. 

Trunks seemed to realize this too, then immediately attempted to backpedal and pretend he didn’t actually care, but Goten was staring at him as though seeing him for the first time. 

Tenshi rolled her eyes and walked off, and Trunks was left glaring at her retreating back, blushing furiously, and Goten just stood there, staring at his best friend. 

He slowly remembered the Movie Theatre Incident and wondered why he hadn't realized Trunks liked Tenshi that way sooner. 

There had been some kid their age who just kind of made friends with Tenshi at the movie theatre when they were fourteen. Well, Tenshi and Goten were fourteen, Trunks was fifteen. It had been Tenshi's birthday, and Trunks had taken them to the movies. The adults were somewhere in the building, but since they were big kids now, Bulma convinced Gohan and Chichi that they hadn't needed to be monitored twenty-four/seven. Trunks proved that to be wrong when he had broken that kid's hand for no apparent reason.... But now that he was thinking about it, Goten remembered that the kid - he couldn't remember his name for the life of him - had been flirting with Tenshi, and Tenshi had been giggly and happy because no one outside of their families ever told her she was pretty. 

The medical bills for the kid were easily paid, but Trunks had been grounded for a whole month, and by _Vegeta_ instead of Bulma. That never happened. 

Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi went back to Trunks's house, but Tenshi immediately announced that she and Goten were going home and Trunks stomped his way to his room to mope. 

Tenshi couldn't fly, but they had taken the car that evening. They had two, thanks to Gohan's job and Bulma giving the family a discount on capsule cars. So Tenshi and Goten just got back into the car and drove off. Goten sat in the passenger's seat, and Tenshi didn't say a word. 

Halfway there, she moved her tongue around in her mouth, rolled the window down, then spat out the used flower petal. 

"Don't those dissolve and are edible?" Goten asked hesitantly. 

"Didn't feel like eating it," Tenshi said. He guessed she just wanted to do something aggressive and disgusting to burn off some steam. 

The next day, Bulma demanded to know why they were getting billed for a broken nose and face reconstruction surgery, and Vegeta grounded Trunks for two months this time.


	39. Miss Murder by AFI (Goten)

Trunks being grounded for two months meant he was only allowed to go to school and stay at home, but that didn't mean that Goten and Tenshi were restricted to school or Capsule Corp. when they weren't at home. Tenshi and Goten weren't grounded, of course, since word about the incident in the club had never reached Gohan's or Chichi's ears. This meant quite a few afternoons where they didn't want to go home _quite_ yet and were ready to have some fun. 

Trunks parted ways with them with slumped shoulders, and Goten looked over his shoulder to watch him leave. 

"While I get why he's grounded, I feel a little bad for him." 

"I don't. He fucking lost it for no reason when he hit that guy." 

Goten refrained from saying that it wasn't for _no_ reason.... 

"No, I get that that's bad and he shouldn't do that, I'm just...." 

Tenshi smiled at him. 

"You always were the compassionate one," she said. "Hey, what do you wanna do today? Did you bring your cards? We could hit up the comic book store, and you could see who's up for a duel." 

Goten gave a tiny bit of an embarrassed smile when he held up his Yu-Gi-Oh cards. (He had a leaning towards monsters that fell into the Beast category, so his deck was structured to support those types of cards.) 

"Let's go there, then. We've got a few hours before we have to be back home." 

It didn't take them long to get there, but once they were there, Goten gravitated towards the card playing room to poke his head inside. It was game playing night, and Goten was happy to see that he wasn't the first person there or anything like that. He ponied up the competition fee, then sat down to play. 

For the next few hours, Goten could sense that Tenshi was definitely still in the building, but she didn't come into the room to see how his games were going (and that was fine, she wasn't really into playing card games). He figured she was looking at the variety of manga and comic books on the shelves in the main area of the shop. 

Eventually, he checked his watch after a couple duels and saw that he and Tenshi really needed to get going. He gathered up his cards, shook hands with his current opponent, then said his goodbyes. 

"Hey, you gonna be back for next week's?"

"I'm not sure, but I'd really like to be!" 

"Looking forward to that re-match, dude!" 

Goten grinned and then went into the main store area. 

He loved Tenshi and Trunks. They were his best friends. And Tenshi was family. But sometimes . . . with Trunks crushing so hard on Tenshi and Tenshi getting into her own stuff more often than not, it felt like he was being excluded or ignored..... He was probably being silly, but just a tiny thing like "looking forward to seeing you again" made him feel a lot better. 

The smile didn't last very long when he saw what Tenshi had been doing for so long. 

They were hidden in the corner of the store, and some manga volumes were laying on the ground like they had been dropped in the frevor. Tenshi was pinning some dude Goten had never seen before against the book case with her tongue down his throat, and Goten just found himself standing and staring for a while. 

"Um," Goten said, but that didn't really affect what he was watching. "Tenshi? We gotta go." 

"Mmm!" Tenshi held up her finger, telling him to wait, and Goten furrowed his eyebrows, pouting. 

"Seriously, we gotta go, it's a long trip back, and it's _your_ dad who is gonna flip if we're late." 

Her kiss broke, and saliva was dripping between their lips, and Goten scrunched his nose up. Kissing was gross. He was sixteen years old and still felt that way. 

"See you later, alligator," Tenshi said, moving and picking up the manga volume she had dropped. 

She and Tenshi started walking away before the guy managed to pull himself together. 

"Bye!" he called after them. 

Tenshi put the manga volume back, and they went out the door. 

"Seriously?" Goten asked as they got into the car. 

"What? Kissing is fun." 

"Is not. And they're strangers, isn't that weird?" 

"Nah, strangers means no commitment. I'm not ready for a _relationship_ , I just wanna have some fun. Hell, I'm happy that I can _find_ people who want to make out with my freakish mug." 

Goten frowned. "You're not a freak." 

Tenshi didn't say anything to that, and Goten then felt guilty for feeling like she was ignoring him before. 

They drove in silence for a while. But when they parked in front of their home, Goten spoke up again. 

"I'm sorry people think you're ugly." 

Tenshi didn't respond at first. 

"Yeah. Me too." 

"And I'm sorry they don't understand you're a girl...." 

". . . Yeah. . . ." 

Goten looked over at her. 

"And I don't actually care if you kiss, like, a hundred dudes, if that's what you wanna do. I'm just . . . I just don't personally get it, and if . . . you're only doing it because you wanna feel like guys think you're a pretty girl, that makes me worried...." 

Tenshi said nothing and got out of the car. Goten stayed in the car, feeling second-hand emotions welling up in his chest and tears working up in his eyes. 

Goten eventually did get out of the car, went inside the house, headed past the kitchen and living room, went to his bedroom, grabbed the iPod he had, put the earbuds in his ears, turned the music on, then headed for the backyard. 

"Goten - !" Chichi called, but he couldn't hear her as the back door slammed behind him. She blinked repeatedly, then turned to Tenshi who was nursing a bottle of mineral water. "Did something happen?" 

Tenshi shrugged. "We stopped by the comic book store before coming back, so maybe he lost a few too many card games." 

Chichi frowned, but she didn't press the matter just then. 

Goten still trained. It was fun, so just because it reminded him of Dad didn't mean that he stopped. If anything, Goten was the one who took Goku's disappearance the least hard. Maybe it was weird, but Goten had always felt a bit of a disconnect with Goku anyway. The man just . . . didn't connect on some kind of wave length or something.... Goten couldn't explain it. And maybe it was because he was looking in hindsight, but.... He was not nearly as bothered by it as Gohan and Chichi and even Tenshi. 

Tenshi, when she thought about it, felt guilt over it, as though it was her fault. Because something about that stupid painting she kept covered up in the study room had made him fly the coop. 

Goten just had an empty place in his heart that wasn't filled with anything, no guilt or sadness or even anger. Nothing was in it and nothing wanted to be there, and he felt okay. Not good, but okay. 

His music was too loud in his ears as he punched and kicked the air. He had lost track of time and paid no mind to the setting of the sun. 

But he did pay attention to when his earbuds were pulled out of his ears. 

" _Will you turn that horrid noise down!?_ " 

Piccolo. 

Goten grabbed his iPod and turned the music off. Piccolo was glaring at him, and Goten had the decency to hang his head and look ashamed of himself. 

He knew full well Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion had superior, sensitive hearing, and he knew that all three of them could not stand Goten's type of music. Even songs that Tenshi could stand for the most part, she ended up cringing from whenever it started the screamo portion of it, and Goten was aware of just how much of listening to it was like genuine torture for them. 

"Sorry...." 

"Tch.... Just don't play it so loud. You won't be able to hear it at all at that rate." 

Goten hunched his shoulders up. 

"Dinner's ready by the way," Piccolo said, heading back into the house. 

Goten put his iPod away and followed him. 

He felt like he should tell Piccolo or Gohan about Tenshi essentially having oral sex with strangers. About how she was using it to try to make herself feel better about other people - humans - thinking she was ugly with the green skin and the "drag queen get-up." Feel better about people not seeing a young woman. 

But he didn't. Goten kept his silence, and Tenshi just drank her mineral water and talked to Dominion about his lessons today and talked to Gohan and Piccolo about her and Goten's lessons, and Goten ignored Chichi's concerned looks. 

His heart was starting to feel more empty than usual, but those empty spots were being filled with something in its place. Filled with hurt and pain.


	40. Get Low by Lil John (Trunks)

Goten and Tenshi didn't go to the comic store every day. They only had card gaming once a week, anyway, so Goten really didn't have any interest in going every day. Tenshi sometimes went to look at the art books, but manga and comic book art wasn't really her style. She did enjoy reading manga, but she had plenty at home and would never consider herself an otaku. She was a very casual fan of manga, and sometimes she turned into an art snob when she was handed certain manga titles. (They never heard the end of it when Fruits Basket was gifted to her one day, despite having tried her hardest to grin and bare it.) 

When Goten went again, Tenshi had opted to just head on to Capsule Corp with Trunks and meet him there. So Goten was by himself as he entered the store. 

He headed for the back room and paid the fee to play, and he entertained himself for a few hours by himself. 

It took him a while to recognize one of their audience members, but soon after he started playing, he realized that one of the guys watching him play was the dude that Tenshi had made out with last week. He tried not to think anything else of it as he played his games. 

The dude didn't draw any additional attention to himself until Goten bowed out of playing any more games for the day, packed up his cards, then went to leave. 

"Hey!" 

Goten turned around, just barely out of the gaming room and into the main area. 

"Hey.... You...." Goten said, not really wanting to talk to him. And wondering what he wanted. 

"Lucas. I'm - I'm Lucas. That was some killer strategy you used, man." 

"Thanks...." 

An awkward silence hung between them. Goten started to turn and continue walking. 

"Does your friend usually come with you? What's his name?" 

Goten felt a vein in his forehead twitch. He figured that's why he was talking to him. 

" _Her_ name is Tenshi, and she's my . . . we're family." 

"Oh! I had thought . . . you know, one of those drag queens or something...." 

"No." Honestly, Goten felt like she'd dress less aggressively feminine if people just _believed_ dressing the way she used to equated with her being a girl. 

"Well . . . does she usually come with you?" 

Goten sighed. "Look . . . Lucas. She's not interested in a boyfriend or anything like that. She's just fucking around." 

"Maybe I'm just looking to fuck around, too." 

"Then fuck around with someone else. Goodbye." 

Goten then kept walking, and he could feel Lucas's eyes burrowing into his back. 

 

Just because Trunks was grounded didn't mean he was exempt from things the _family_ did as a whole. That Sunday (the day Goten had encountered Lucas had been a Wednesday, and they had fun doing some light sparring together), Trunks begrudgingly got dressed up for a big dinner that the Briefs were invited to. 

Due to Capsule Corp.'s reputation and place in the world, Bulma and her family got invited to a lot of social gatherings that had a lot of high class, high end people with money and prestige and ulterior motives to becoming friends with the Briefs family. And Bulma was perfectly aware of their intentions, and when she was Trunks's age, she absolutely hated going to these parties. But as she grew older, she found a kind of perverse joy in bringing Vegeta with her to scare people and to show that she was not fucking around and they better treat her and her company and family right. 

Bulma as an individual might've had a reputation of being a spoiled brat, but she was in charge of the company, and she knew how to run it and how to make people respect her and keep her individuality intact. 

Vegeta just liked scaring people, and he found it hilarious that he could do that by doing so little. 

Bra was four years old, so she really didn't attend these parties, and Dr. Briefs was getting too tired in his old age to shmoosie with people who weren't actually interested in his science. He much preferred conferences, and he had no objections to looking after Bra while the rest of the family went to the party. 

Trunks couldn't even drink yet, so he really hated these things. Though he wished he could bring Goten and Tenshi. That'd make it a lot more fun.... 

He frowned a bit as he remembered the incident at the club. Some stranger's saliva dripping down Tenshi's chin and her green hand against his cheek.... He balled his hand into a fist, but he took a deep breath. 

"You look really serious over there," spoke up someone, and Trunks had to force himself out of his thoughts to turn his head to look at her. She was dressed in a pure white, sparkling dress, which contrasted well with her long, dark hair. It clearly had product in it to give it more volume. 

The music playing was classical, and Trunks wanted to bash his head against the wall. 

"Just thinking about things. Who're you?" 

"Gem Kurisutaru." 

"Oh, you're Dr. Gem's daughter, then?" 

"That's right. And you must be Trunks Briefs. The hair color and your unmistakable resemblance to the . . . man of short stature over there makes you impossible not to recognize." 

"Hmph." 

Dr. Gem was a geologist who had started up a jewelry store in his spare time, and the jewelry store became a huge business while he wasn't looking. Gem Tamako was really the one running the company, but more people in the field of science knew who Dr. Gem was. 

"Have you been to the hors d'oeuvre table yet? The lobster dip is delicious." 

Well . . . he was hungry. 

They ended up going to the table together, and he listened to her prattle on about pretentious rich people crap he didn't care about. Trunks was rich, yes, but he wasn't . . . raised in a bubble, and Vegeta, while definitely high maintenance, didn't really fit into what humans considered high brow society and was seen by them as lowly and brutish. Add that to how he knew the Sons lived (needing three jobs, one small home between three adults, two teenagers, and a ten-year-old, and he remembered when Goten would occasionally voice the concern that they didn't have enough food in a tiny voice when he would sleep over at Trunks's house when they were really, really little), Trunks was . . . worldly enough to not give a shit about ragging on people for having eating disorders or making fun of them for mismanaging their money or making a poor decision or having a ultimately harmless wardrobe malfunction. 

Kurisutaru was vapid, dull, and full of herself. Like a Capitol member in the Hunger Games. And the steady encroaching in on his personal space altered Trunks to the fact that, for whatever reason, she was attempting to flirt. He tried to think of a reason why he specifically was a good option for her, outside of the fact that he was the richest teenager in the room. With how his mother and father behaved and was thought of, the money wasn't enough of an incentive with these people. 

As Kurisutaru put her hand on Trunks's bicep, all he could think about was Tenshi's mouth on a stranger's and her hand on his cheek and his hand on her hip and the swelling rage in his chest. 

"Oh, this composition is my favorite. Would you be up for a dance?" 

"Sure." 

He had gotten lessons a while back, thanks to his grandmother. She had understood the value in knowing how to dance, though Vegeta had never understood it. 

He could sense the stares they were getting, because the Briefs son never actually got involved or participated in these things (and he knew they kept tabs on that stuff, there were gossip rags that went on and on about the failings of the rich and famous to meet expectations, and he, his mother, and his father were in them very often), and he had never been seen interacting with Kurisutaru before. 

Step, step, turn. Step, step turn. _Tenshi's tongue flashing into view, sliding against his lips._ Step, step, turn. Step, step, turn. _Not wanting to stop at one punch, wanting to see his blood decorating the dance floor._ Step, step, twirl, turn. Step, step, turn. _Her green hand caressing his neck._ Step, step, turn. Step, step, turn. _Tenshi shouting at him, angry with him, saying he wasn't her boyfriend, which was true, but_ Step, step, turn. Step, step, twirl, turn. 

The song ended, and they stopped dancing, though they didn't move off the dance floor immediately. 

"You can let go of my hand now, if you don't want to dance anymore," Kurisutaru pointed out. She must've thought he needed a pointer in the right direction for what was socially appropriate at this point. 

"Do you want to come over for dinner sometime?" 

Kurisutaru's eyes widened, and Trunks knew what the gossip rags would look like. "Briefs Heir Courting Daughter of Gem Jewelry Company?" This would be scrutinized by everyone who was here, and he'd never hear the end of it on those stupid fan sites that were dedicated to him, saying how he was the "husbando" of random girls he had never met and "how dare that bitch." 

He didn't feel any guilt in turning such a cruel eye onto her. 

All he could feel was his jealous rage in the pit of his stomach. 

He wanted Tenshi so bad.... It didn't feel _good_ to feel this way. 

He didn't even know what he wanted from Kurisutaru. To get back at Tenshi? For hurting him when she didn't even know why he was upset? Was there any way to make sure this would hurt her? _Tenshi's blood spattering his shoes, her broken-on-the-inside body crumpling to the ground. He thinks she's going to die, and so does she._ No, no, he didn't want to hurt her, never hurt her. He just . . . . 

He didn't want to feel this way anymore. 

"Yes. Yes, I think I'd like that," Kurisutaru said. 

No turning back now. 

They exchanged contact information, then parted ways. Trunks sat in a chair for the duration of the party. Vegeta watched him from the other side of the room, frowning hard. 

On the way home, Bulma was the one to ask Trunks about it. 

"What was that about on the dance floor, Trunks? It sounded like you asked her to come over for dinner...." 

"I did," Trunks said, looking out the window of the car. 

"Really? You like her? I never would've guessed. I mean, she's pretty smart, gets some of the best grades in the country, but I wouldn't have thought you two had anything else in common." 

Trunks didn't say anything. 

"Boy, you better know what you're doing," Vegeta said abruptly. Bulma looked at Vegeta, a bit surprised by his input. 

Trunks pointedly did not look at either of them. 

All he could think about was his jealousy and rage and Tenshi bleeding on the tournament ring floor.


	41. Dirty Little Secret by All American Rejects (Tenshi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attempted assault is in this chapter.

"What do you mean we can't go over to your house after school?" Tenshi asked, already having received threats to be sent to the principal's office for her shade of lipstick. Teachers hadn't followed through on dress code violation detention or trips to the principal since Gohan pitched his last fit on campus. (Her lipstick was a dark shade of red, and she ordinarily avoided red because it made her look like some kind of Christmas advertisement. But in her floral-patterned blouse and jeans, she had felt like she needed an extra bit of flare.) 

"Exactly what it sounds like, you can't come over today. We're having important guests over." 

Goten frowned. He didn't like the sound of this at all. 

"Who's coming over?" Tenshi interrogated, a bit of a snarl on her face. Considering how much she looked like her mother, snarling made her look quite intimidating and not exactly the kind of attractive she was aiming for. 

Trunks seemed to think about whether or not to answer at all before he spoke again. "Gem Kurisutaru." 

The name had no importance to Goten or Tenshi. Neither were the least bit interested in jewelry, and due to how expensive it was, neither of them owned any. Tenshi instead saved up for make-up. Eyeshadow and lipstick were less expensive and popped more when applied. 

Trunks sighed heavily, and Goten wasn't sure if he was being irrational at his feelings getting hurt by it and his tone. 

"She's the daughter of a well-off jewelry company owner who's been going places for the last twenty-five years and a world-famous geologist. She's coming over for dinner, and you're not invited." 

Tenshi couldn't explain to herself why she was getting pissed off. Maybe it was the suddenness of it, maybe it was because they both knew Trunks was grounded but that had never stopped them form coming over before, and this . . . other woman was taking their place in his house for the night? She had no idea who she was - for all she knew, Kurisutaru was a perfectly nice girl who deserved a fun night out - but she was wishing the woman would just go away. Maybe it was less that he had someone else visiting and more Trunks's attitude. Yeah, that sounded more on the money. Trunks's attitude recently had been rather shitty, but she had just chalked it up to him being mad he was grounded and whatever the hell had happened in the club. 

"Tch. Whatever. Have _fun_." 

Tenshi crossed her arms and focused on the lesson instead. Trunks's hand was gripping his pencil too tight and it snapped in half. Despite the snap echoing in Tenshi's ears due to hearing sensitivity and Trunks being right next to her, she ignored it entirely. 

Goten couldn't focus, and all he could think about was that Trunks was angry, Trunks had a huge crush on Tenshi and yet was pushing them both away, just who was Gem Kurisutaru, and why was this putting a rift between them? 

After school, Tenshi and Goten watched as Trunks went in the direction of his house. Tenshi turned to Goten first. Goten continued watching, even as Tenshi spoke. 

"What days are those card tournaments again?" 

". . . Wednesdays. . . ." 

"All right, let's go there, then." 

"I don't feel like playing." 

But Goten moved his feet, and they reached a spot where they could de-capsulate the car. 

"Then we'll just look to see whatever crap they have. Hell, maybe we'll take up figurine collecting. Or costuming, there's cosplay classes there on Fridays, aren't there? We got an allowance we barely use." 

Goten frowned more, letting her drive this time. 

"You're not hoping that guy is gonna be there again, are you?" 

"What guy?" She took a moment. "Oh, that guy. I don't give a shit if he's there or not." 

Goten wondered for a moment if that was true or not. He knew she didn't want to make a commitment, but.... 

He wanted to ask if she had a crush on Trunks, but the question died in his throat. He stayed quiet the rest of the car drive. Eventually, they reached the manga shop and got out of the car. 

They entered the store, and Tenshi made a bee-line for the one clothes rack in the store. It just had some T-shirts hanging off of it, and she fumbled through the options, frowning at just how many of them were men's shirts. Granted, they would fit her a lot better than women's clothes in stores, but with Piccolo's clothes beam, getting clothes for her that fit really wasn't an issue. This was just a distraction. 

Goten spotted a Green Lantern T-shirt and gravitated towards it, but he had no intentions of buying it. 

They had only been looking around for twenty minutes when Lucas brought his presence to their attention. 

"Hey, if it isn't the Duel Master!" 

Goten cringed, mostly due to Lucas being there but also at the mixing up of franchises (Duel Masters was an entirely different show and game, in Yu-Gi-Oh the phrase was Duel King, though Goten never would've considered himself _that_ good). 

"And you're looking as beautiful as ever," Lucas said. 

Tenshi looked over at him. "Thanks." Then she went back to looking at the clothes on the rack. 

Lucas turned his attention onto Goten. Goten really wasn't in the mood for this. 

"You gonna duel today? Fitz and Takashi are here today." 

Goten remembered them as having machine and spellcaster decks respectively, and while that would've sounded great on a regular day, he really didn't want to play right then, and he knew what this was about. 

Lucas wanted to be alone with Tenshi so they could make out against the bookshelves again. That was all this was about. 

"Nah, I'm not feeling the groove of the game today." 

"You sure? It'd be a hell of a game, if you did play them." 

And it would take hours to duel both of them. They were really good, and it would take a lot of concentration and brain power to beat them. 

" _Yes_ , I'm sure." 

"Really? 'Cause I'd bet on ya if you were, I'd bet that you'd win and that would totally - " 

"Why are you being so pushy?" Tenshi interjected, taking a few steps to place herself into their space. 

Lucas leaned back a little, putting his hands up in a tiny surrender gesture. 

"Sorry, sorry, I was just getting excited. How're you doin'?" 

"I'm fine," Tenshi said curtly, crossing her arms. "Look, unless you and Goten suddenly became best buds while I wasn't looking, you gotta step off and leave him alone." 

Lucas took a step towards her, and Goten had a bad feeling about this. In his gut. Like . . . like he was sensing some bad ki or something. 

"All right. Do you wanna do anything? There's a new ice cream shop down the street, and I'd really like to get to . . . _know_ you better. Tenshi, right?" 

"Right," Tenshi said, frowning hard. "If by get to know me, you mean fuck, then I'm really not in the mood today. Maybe some other time." 

Lucas dropped all the pretenses. "Aw, c'mon. I've been waiting weeks for you to come back in here so I could see you again. You're not gonna make me wait even longer, are you?" 

"Yeah, I am. And what makes you think there even should be a next time? You aren't the only dude I met one day, stuck my tongue down his throat, then moved on to the next one with. I didn't even tell you my name.... How'd you learn it, anyway?" 

"From him, of course," Lucas said, gesturing at Goten. Goten hunched his shoulders. Yeah, that'd be his fault.... 

"Well, regardless, the answer is no, I'm not fucking you or making out with you today. Go away." 

"What's the difference between a couple weeks ago and right now?" 

Lucas was starting to really invade Tenshi's personal space, and Goten wasn't sure what to do. He had the strength to intervene, but he didn't want to hurt anyone if it wasn't entirely necessary, but this was getting really tense, and why couldn't this guy just leave them alone? Was this really the type of place that would attract the kind of creep that would keep on and on after told no? Goten had heard stories online, but he had always thought it was just . . . something that happened in creepy places. 

"The difference is I'm not in the fucking mood, now shove it!" 

Tenshi pushed Lucas away from her, but his response was to grab her, and before Goten could process what was happening and prevent it, Lucas had grabbed the back of her head with his other hand and tried to force her to kiss him. 

Tenshi threw her head forward, making their foreheads connected in a headbutt. He let go of her, exclaiming in pain, and Tenshi shoved past him and ran out of the comic shop. Goten hurried after her, unable to believe what just happened. _Was this really happening, what the fuck?_

Tenshi drove as far as out of the city, and they kept going, but neither of them were able to talk much. 

They never went back to that shop. Goten's Yu-Gi-Oh deck sat on his dresser top, untouched, for years afterwards. 

At home, Chichi, Piccolo, Gohan, and Dominion wondered what was wrong as both of them just rushed into the house, split off into different directions, and the slamming of two different doors could be heard. 

Goten grabbed his iPod and stuffed the earbuds in his ears, then curled up into a little ball and applied pressure on either side of his head. Tenshi had gone into the bathroom and was furiously brushing her teeth. Despite Lucas's lips not touching hers, despite knowing no saliva had been swapped, she still felt gross and yucky and scared because her birth control petal hadn't been in place. That could have gotten an egg fertilized, she didn't want to be a mother at sixteen, she hadn't even given that any thought at all, she wasn't even ready for a _relationship_ let alone a kid, and it could've happened _just like that_ \- ! 

She remembered the story of her own conception, she remembered how frighteningly easy it had been for Mommy to have her, how Daddy and Mommy only held hands and hugged each other and gave the driest of kisses (on the cheek, on the hand, on the forehead) except for when they had Dominion. She remembered that she wasn't allowed to share drinks with Goten or Trunks or anybody because that's how Mommy had had her.... 

Before she realized it, she was crying. Tears were running down her face and ruining the mascara she had put on that morning - the one time she actually could be arsed in the morning to put it on - and she couldn't help sobbing aloud. She knew both Piccolo and Dominion could hear her, with their Namekian hearing, how could they not, and she'd have to _explain_ \- ! 

Piccolo came to comfort Tenshi, and Chichi went to Goten, and they both explained in their own tearful ways - Tenshi confessing how scared she was right then, though in the moment she had just been angry, and Goten sharing how useless he had felt, and neither mentioned how a part of them kept telling them _this wouldn't have happened if Trunks hadn't **ditched** us_.... 

Dominion didn't understand what had happened, and Gohan kept Dominion distracted until he had a moment to comfort Tenshi himself.


	42. Hollow Moon by AWOLNATION (Goten)

Goten and Tenshi didn't go to school the next day, which left Trunks very confused. When he had an opportunity during the school day, he called up the Son residence, but he got Chichi on the line. 

"I'm sorry, Trunks. We should've let you know, but it happened so suddenly and . . . they're not ready to talk about it right now." 

"Are they okay? Did something happen to them?" 

"We'll let you know as soon as they're able to tell you. Okay? They'll be back tomorrow, but they'll probably just want to head back home after school for the next few days." 

"But what happened!?" 

He didn't get an answer, and that made him worried and frustrated. Part of him just wanted to write it off as Tenshi _finally_ being jealous in return, but that didn't explain Goten not being there. No, something had happened, and he hadn't been there, and he couldn't even think of what might've happened.... 

He was also still pissed off over last night, though he supposed he had no real right to be. He had been the one to invite Kurisutaru over for dinner in the first place.... 

_"Trunks, this is some kind of a joke, right? You aren't **actually** romantically interested in a girl like that, are you? She's so - so - vain!" Bulma complained, rubbing her temple with her glass of wine in the other hand. _

_"Look who's talking," Trunks muttered under his breath. Bulma hit him lightly in the shoulder for that._

_"She's vain in a different way, and you know it. All she did was tear people she knows down. Like that story about the governor's kid - I know them personally, and that poor girl didn't deserve any of those rude comments of hers! Kurisutaru is a hateful girl!"_

_Vegeta snorted, but he didn't say anything. Trunks almost wanted him to call him out on what he was doing. Almost._

Trunks knew he wasn't being fair. But he couldn't seem to help it. Kurisutaru was collateral damage, and he figured she couldn't be hurt too badly by it since she was shallow and vain and hateful. It seemed like she would have some kind of interpersonal armor built entirely out of her selfishness and self esteem that would handle it. At least, that's what Trunks was telling himself. 

Now it was a waiting game. To see when Tenshi would respond, would feel like he did. Be angry like he was, and not want to see him with anyone else like he didn't want her to be with anyone else. 

He hoped she would. 

 

Right then, Tenshi didn't want to respond to anything. She just wanted to stay here at home with her family, where it was safe. Reason and rationale had caught up with her, and it was finally providing some comfort. She couldn't be pregnant, there had been no saliva swapping. Lucas's lips hadn't touched hers at all, their foreheads had connected before that happened. She was fine. 

In the comfort of her own home, she allowed herself to dress in more comfortable and less gendered clothing - black tank top with purple sweat pants, not her fighting clothes but would have been appropriate at the gym. Not that she went to those. Her breathing problems, in the handy dandy human medical booklets, said her lungs weren't strong enough for gym membership. Forget the fact that she was an alien and the rules seemed to be mostly different for her. Humans were still more frail than her, and their parts worked less well. 

If she was fully human, she was a little afraid she wouldn't have lived this long, though she did have to remember that if it wasn't for Dende, she'd have died a long time ago. 

The spot on her forehead where she had connected with Lucas's forehead was starting to bruise rather badly, but she didn't think she had to go see Dende about it. They'd monitor it just in case, though. 

Goten was listening to his music too loudly in his earbuds since yesterday evening, but aside from asking him to turn it down, Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion didn't bother him about it. Tenshi actually would like a lot of the music on Goten's iPod if it wasn't for the screamo portions of a lot of them. Piccolo, however, had much more sensitive hearing and even too loud or heavy a bass sound from the bass guitar in pretty much _everything_ set him on edge. 

Dominion had the gist of what had happened: someone had attacked them yesterday. But he didn't know the details, and he wasn't asking. Tenshi much preferred it that way. 

Gohan and Piccolo still had work that day, but Chichi set aside her other responsibilities to watch them and take care of them, at least until Goten and Tenshi insisted that she not worry so much, they were fine. They'd let her know if they needed anything. 

It didn't stop her from baking plenty of sweets for Goten and making some tea and providing a variety of flavored mineral water for Tenshi (which she willingly shared with Dominion when he started eying it). 

The morning was spent laying around, moping, but come lunchtime, Tenshi got up and grabbed Goten's shoulder and drug him into the backyard for training. 

Dominion watched, though he had never showed any interest in fighting. But he liked watching. Tenshi and Goten made punches and kicks look beautiful. Though he grew concerned when he would see Tenshi get out of breath faster than Goten. She wasn't pacing herself as she should, and they all knew it. 

For them, the day was uneventful. It went just like that. Moping, training, snacking, resting. Staying at home. 

While their reasons for doing that were not happy ones, they would learn that they would need to cherish that day of rest. 

 

"Now you know what you have to do, right?" Future Trunks said to Goku as they stood in the middle of TokiToki. Supreme Kai of Time and a Tenshi from another timeline entirely stood on either side of them. AT Tenshi still had the nasal cannula and her air tank, but it looked very different from Tenshi's and was bigger, less technologically advanced. 

"Yup! It's about time I went back, anyway. Man, Tenshi's gonna be so excited!" 

AT Tenshi had a bit of a skeptical pout on her face. "I guess this is goodbye then...." 

"Hey, I'll be back sometime! I can teleport, remember?" 

"Yeah, yeah.... Just make sure what happened to my timeline doesn't happen to yours." 

"Right. Gotcha. Well, it's been great seeing you again, Trunks, and great meeting the two of you! Bye now!" 

Goku teleported away, going back to the timeline he belonged in. AT Tenshi crossed her arms and grunted a bit. 

"Something wrong?" Future Trunks asked. 

"I dunno.... I get the weird feeling we should go with him." AT Tenshi said. 

"But you're both needed here. Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll send both of you to go help him." Supreme Kai of Time said. 

"Good. He isn't even a member of the Time Patrol, so at least one of us _should_ be there." 

Future Trunks smiled a little bit. He knew she really wanted to see what the other timeline looked like. Out of all the timelines, she only existed in two of them, and hers was gone forever.... She wanted to know what the other Tenshi was like. 

 

Tenshi and Goten had finished taking turns showering and had just settled into their night wear and in front of the television, waiting for Piccolo and Gohan to come back home. Goten was flipping through the channels, and they had found Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems on the air. It had just started when orange gi pants obscured their view of the television. 

"Hey!" Goku said, grinning. 

Tenshi and Goten stared at him, and it took forever for them to realize who they were looking at. 

"D-Dad?" 

"Grandpa!?" 

"I found the bird wings!" 

It had been so long, Goten and Tenshi had no recollection of what that was supposed to mean.


	43. One of Us Is Gonna Die Young by The Ark (Tenshi)

Chichi's footsteps had pounded down the stairs when she heard Goten and Tenshi shout that Goku was there, and she stood and stared at him for a long time. Dominion stood by Chichi, staring at a man he had never met. 

Goten and Tenshi had gotten to their feet and were staring equally as long, though with different looks on their faces. 

"What are you talking about?" 

" _Bird wings?_ What - ?" 

"You know, the bird wings! You're the bird?" Goku said, pointing and looking straight at Tenshi. "And - !" 

"And martial arts are the wings.... What the fuck, Grandpa!? You disappeared for _ten years_ over a crappy metaphor a six-year-old came up with!?" 

Goten furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean you _found_ them?" 

"G-Goku . . . !" Chichi finally said, her body starting to tremble. Ten years. He had been gone for ten years and . . . and looked no different and. . . . 

And she thought this pain in her heart had gone away and scarred over, not to bother her anymore. 

"Hey Chichi!" Goku said, as though nothing had changed, grinning at her like nothing had changed. 

He then entirely put his focus on Tenshi - just Tenshi, not even Goten - and Chichi was disgusted with herself at the sheer amount of jealousy and rage that she felt in her gut, not directed at Goku but her granddaughter. 

She turned away and went straight for the kitchen. She needed a distraction. 

She heard the pitter-patter of Dominion's bare feet following her into the kitchen. 

"Who is that?" he asked, and her anger shifted to where it belonged. 

"Your grandfather," she said curtly, pulling out the ingredients for dinner. 

Goku put his hands on his hips, and he looked so proud of himself that Tenshi didn't know if she was curious as to what he had been up to or if she wanted to slap him across the face. No one who had been gone for ten years had any right to look that fucking happy. 

His next words kept her from actually going through with hitting him. 

"I found a way for you to fight hard core and not get hurt! Flying, ki-blasts, the whole she-bang!" 

_God,_ that sounded tempting. Also too good to be true. 

"And what's that?" 

Goku's grin was rather infectious. His fervor for fighting was the same as hers, and she could feel her blood pumping at the idea of getting to fulfill her dreams - the dreams that were once goals. 

She could feel her mouth starting to curve upward, almost without permission. She wanted to be pissed at him, dammit. 

But as much as there was a part of her that was sad that he had left because of her - literally because of something she had said, they hadn't had him around for ten years - it was touching that he had thought of her, all this time, and came back when he was able to give her something she had really wanted. 

She had to remind herself that he clearly did not think of anyone else. 

Goten didn't need reminding, but he kept silent on the matter. 

"It's called the fusion technique! It works like this...." And he explained it, explained that it needed two people to create another warrior, a more powerful one, with traits from both individuals who created the single warrior. It would allow her to have the stamina and physical ability to push past her limits, and it wasn't permanent, so she'd be able to go back to her original self after the time limit passed. 

He demonstrated the dance that had to be performed for the technique, and both Tenshi and Goten couldn't help but giggle at it. It looked ridiculous. 

"So all you need to do is pick who you want to fuse with and we can get started!" Goku said. 

"Uh.... Don't you want to chill out and catch up with the others first? You've been gone forever...." Tenshi said. Goten frowned a little. 

"Eh heh, well.... What day is it?" 

"Uh, Thursday?" 

"No, no, the date. And year." 

Goten supplied the date and year, then Goku's face brightened up. 

"Well, in that case, sure! Yeah, I can catch up with everybody first, then we can train!" 

Both Tenshi and Goten just stared at him for a while, wondering . . . what that was about. 

"Grandpa, is something gonna happen in the future?" 

"We can talk about it later! Where are Piccolo and Gohan?" 

"At work...." Goten said, starting to frown again. 

That night was awkward. Chichi didn't want to talk to him, and the first thing Gohan did when he got home was punch Goku in the face. 

Goku, perhaps wisely, chose not to bring up the fusion technique to Gohan. 

 

Gohan was curled up with his head in Piccolo's lap. The clock ticked towards midnight, and Gohan still hadn't gone to sleep yet. Piccolo meditated silently until Gohan spoke up. 

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Gohan muttered. Piccolo knew he was talking about Goku. 

"I don't know." 

Gohan sat up and leaned on Piccolo's shoulder. "It's not fair...." 

Piccolo stayed quiet, not sure if he meant Goku being gone for ten years was unfair, him returning was unfair, or Goku paying Gohan's daughter more attention than either of his sons or his grandson was unfair. Either way, Piccolo agreed. 

"Did he say why he's back?" Piccolo asked. He had not heard the story if there was one. 

"I have no idea...." Gohan said, frowning hard. "Or why he was even gone. All he fucking talked about between him showing up and you coming home was all his battles in Otherworld. What was he even doing in Otherworld?" 

Piccolo shrugged, having no idea. 

"He's not even trying with Mom...." 

Piccolo put his arm around Gohan and hugged him. 

"I'm sorry." 

Gohan buried his face into Piccolo's shoulder. 

"It's not your fault he's a bad father...." 

Gohan had never actually said the words before. Slowly, the realization of the fact sunk in, and Gohan started to cry. At first he tried to hold it inside, but soon he was sobbing quietly. Piccolo unfolded his body from the meditation stance and wrapped both arms around him and held him as he cried into his shoulder. 

 

Dominion was rather fascinated by Goku, and unlike Chichi and Gohan and Goten, he was more than content just to watch him interact with the others. Which was mostly Tenshi at this point. Goten talked a little bit, and Goku was learning a little bit about what they had been up to in the last ten years that morning over breakfast, but comments from Goten, Piccolo, Gohan, and Chichi were led in by things Tenshi said. It was clear that Goku's focus was on his granddaughter and little else, and Dominion was curious as to why that was. 

Dominion only got a footnote introduction and an over-enthusiastic attempt to rub the top of his bald head, but he had stepped back and hid behind Piccolo's chair when Goku had tried that, and Goku ignored him after that. 

Goku mostly asked about training and fighting and his attention span on other topics visibly diminished if they weren't talking about fighting. 

Dominion had never seen someone else with that gleam in his eye that Tenshi would get when she was truly having a good spar. His skin was tan instead of green, and he had dark hair framing his eyes and face, but the gleam was the same, and Dominion had never been more sure of where Tenshi had gotten a feature from. 

There were differences between him, Piccolo, and Tenshi that none of the non-Namekians really picked up on. When Tenshi didn't dress up in dresses, people often mistook her for Mommy from far away unless they were standing right next to each other. But Dominion never had that problem. Despite the many things she had in common with Mommy, Tenshi had rounder features. Dominion had a baby-face that reminded Daddy of Dende (or so Daddy said), so it was more noticeable with him, but the roundness in Tenshi's facial features were more noticeable with her sitting next to this Strange Man they called His Grandfather. 

It was so weird to see a pure-bred Saiyan version of his older sister, and he wondered if he was the only one who saw it. 

Goku barely wanted to wait to meet any of the others before starting training on the fusion technique, but Tenshi insisted they at least see Krillin, 18, and Marron. 

"What about the Briefs?" Dominion asked, surprised she'd say that. 

"'Cause I'm still mad at him," Tenshi said. They all knew who he was. 

"Trunks? What're you mad at him for?" Goku asked. 

Tenshi's eyebrows furrowed, and Goten hunched his shoulders. 

They didn't answer, and Goku just sighed. 

"Aw man. I guess that means you don't want to fuse with Trunks, then?" 

"Hell no!" 

"Fuse?" Gohan asked, not knowing what that meant. Dominion on the other hand had heard them talking about the fusion technique before Gohan had come down for breakfast. 

"Awwww, but he's a really good fighter.... Unless that changed?" 

"N-no, all three of us still train...." Goten said. "If anything, I'd say Trunks is still stronger out of the three...." 

"If I could just train in the GR, that wouldn't be the case, but the damn air tank can't survive the extreme gravity, not even the one designed for space. Trust me, I tried." 

A vein in Gohan's forehead twitched; he apparently hadn't been aware of that. 

" _Tenshi_ ," Gohan said warningly. Tenshi sighed. 

"But you've still been training, Goten?" Goku asked. 

"Well, yeah...." Goten said, fidgeting a little bit. 

Goku brightened up after that. "Then the two of you can fuse! Right?" 

"Sure, if Goten's up for it," Tenshi said. 

"Seriously, what is this "fuse" that you're talking about?" Gohan said. No one answered, and the vein in Gohan's forehead twitched again. 

"Yeah, Trunks is preferable, but you and Goten will be great!" 

". . . Thanks, Dad. Thanks," said Goten. 

"What's the problem between you and Trunks, though?" Piccolo asked. 

"Um," Goten hesitated. 

"Asshole ditched us for some rich hottie," Tenshi spat out. 

"Uh, we don't actually know what she looks like," Goten said. 

"Looked her up on the Internet. She is attractive." 

"Oh...." 

Goku looked to and fro between Tenshi and Goten, then just shrugged. 

"So when are we seeing Krillin and 18?"


	44. Mobscene by Marylin Manson (Goten)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is graphic descriptions of violence at the very end of the chapter. You can tell it's coming up when the chapter break near the end occurs.

Fusing was not as easy as Goku had made it sound. Tenshi and Goten were steadily getting more and more exhausted with doing the same movements over and over, their minds and bodies joining together, thoughts swirling together to the point that they couldn't really differentiate between their two brains. Then they would defuse after having to ride out the imperfect form they had created together due to fingers being crooked, knees too straight or too bent, and by the end of the day, they were laying on the grass, panting and body feeling sore. Tenshi had her breathing mask on, pressing her hand against it hard for the first few minutes. 

Goku pouted and stood over them, looking down at them as they tried to catch their breaths. 

"That's weird. I mean, even if it does take a few tries, usually people get it on the third one...." Goku said. "But we've been at this for hours and gone through multiple versions of you two, and nothing.... I wonder why that is...." 

Chichi shouted for the three of them to come back into the house for food, and Goku offered his hands to Tenshi and Goten, but neither of them accepted the help, so Goku headed into the house by himself. 

Tenshi wanted to wait until she could feel like her thoughts were her own again. She kept seeing Lucas approaching her from Goten's perspective, feel how frozen he had felt, and then the rushing guilt that had come with not doing anything about it. She could also see Lucas from Goten's perspective when he had approached Goten when she hadn't been at the comic shop with him and felt just how much of an ick feeling he had given Goten. She was angry at herself for ever letting herself near that creep, though he hadn't seemed all that creepy at first.... 

Goten rolled over in the grass, face turned away from Tenshi, and she could hear him puking. 

"Hey," she said. "Are you okay?" 

Goten coughed a bit, then he was silent. His shoulder moved, indicating that he was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"Yeah. I'm fine." 

Tenshi frowned. If she was seeing how he had seen it, then he must be. . . . 

"It's not your fault," she said. "He was just a creep." 

Goten made a weird sound that might've meant that he was going to vomit again, but he forced himself to stand up and walk back into the house. Tenshi stayed laying on the ground, turning her head to stare up at the sky. 

It was bright and blue, with wisps of clouds above. 

Maybe it was because the forced contact had been aborted before lips met lips and saliva was swapped, but after the initial panic on the day of, she hadn't felt one way or another about it. Everyone met a creep at some point, and she supposed she just hadn't been taking care of herself enough. Not that it was her fault, she didn't think _that_ at all, the blame was entirely on Lucas. But even if something isn't your fault, you can still attempt to keep yourself safe from it from taking precautions, and she had not taken enough of them. She hadn't really bothered to get to know any of the people she had made out with, and in hindsight, she felt like Lucas would have been someone she'd have been able to figure out wasn't someone she'd want to do that with had she done more than ask "hey, you wanna make-out?" 

Precautions did not mean nothing bad was ever going to happen. She'd be foolish to think that, and ultimately it didn't matter because the past was the past. Just the likelihood would have been lower. 

Goten had known he was a creep before it happened. Goten had tried to tell him off when she wasn't there.... 

She sighed heavily. 

She heard footsteps coming across the grass, and Daddy appeared above her. 

"Hey," Gohan said, the sun refracting through the corner of his glasses. "You okay?" 

"Yeah," she said, accepting his hand to pull her up off the ground. 

"Training going okay? Not out of breath?" 

"Training's fine. Goten and I just suck at fusion, apparently." 

"You two still haven't told me what that is...." 

Tenshi just shrugged and leaned on her daddy as they walked back into the house. 

They were quiet for a while as they crossed the threshold into the home. She could hear Chichi sounding huffy at Goku and Goku attempting to placate her. 

"Goten opted out of dinner," Gohan said. 

"I figured. He puked up lunch just a while ago." 

"Is he feeling okay?" 

"Ehhh.... The fusion means we're creating one person with two people, and our memories and thoughts get scrambled together and . . . and with the thing at the comic store...." 

Gohan's face darkened. 

"I see." 

Tenshi frowned. 

"He's taking it harder than me.... I don't know if that makes any sense, but.... Goten's always been really sensitive." 

Gohan nodded, though now he seemed to be thinking about something really hard. 

"Daddy?" 

Gohan looked over at her, giving her his full attention. 

"Don't do something crazy to protect me, okay?" 

Gohan didn't answer right away. 

"Don't worry about it, all right? I got you that cotton candy flavored mineral water you wanted to try on my way home from work. Why don't you drink with the others while I check on Goten?" 

Tenshi's frown deepened, but she went on into the kitchen, and Gohan went to check on Goten. 

Gohan climbed the stairs and found Goten in his bedroom with the earbuds in his ears, playing Marylin Manson way too loudly in his ears. Gohan could hear the lyrics from where he stood across the room, but he just crossed the room, sat next to his little brother, then gently tugged an earbud out. Goten then responded by turning the volume down, since the sound was now unbalanced. 

They were silent for a while. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gohan asked. 

Goten turned his head and looked at Gohan. Gohan met his eyes and saw a very sad teenager. 

"I should've protected her, but I couldn't move.... I knew he was creepy, and I had tried to be nice while also making him go away and that didn't work, and you're always saying that nice only goes so far and when it doesn't . . . but I couldn't do it." 

Gohan put an arm around his little brother and hugged him. 

"It's understandable. I used to freeze up and not be able to move when first put in dangerous situations, too." 

Goten put his head on Gohan's shoulder, rubbing his cheek into the fabric of Gohan's button-up. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, and we've always put a big emphasis on controlling your strength. It'll take time for you to know when to hold back, when to reign in your fear, and when to let it rip. We can work on it together, if you want. Just you and me, if you want, or with Piccolo, too." 

"What about Dad?" 

Gohan was quiet for a bit. 

"Do you want Dad to be involved?" 

Goten was silent for an equally as long period. 

"No." 

Gohan gave him a small, sad smile. 

"Then he doesn't have to be there. If you don't want them involved, they don't have to be." 

Goten nodded, then leaned further into Gohan. 

"He could've really hurt her...." Goten said. 

"I know.... Do you remember what he looked like?" 

Without thinking about why Gohan would ask something like that, Goten answered, "Dirty blonde hair wearing a Kill La Kill T-shirt and a nose piercing." 

". . . What's Kill La Kill?" 

Goten sighed, then forced himself to get up and go up to the computer and pulled up some images and wiki pages about what it was, including a picture of what Lucas's shirt looked like. 

Gohan ruffled Goten's hair. 

"Sure you're not hungry?" 

"Nah.... The fusion training is killing my appetite." 

Downstairs, they heard an echo. 

"You don't even have an intestinal track that will handle food consumption! There is no way for you to poop, you can't eat this!" Chichi admonished rather shrilly; she was increasingly frustrated by Goku's sudden reappearance. 

"I know, I know! I don't even know why, but for some reason, I _really really want_ that steak!" 

Goten and Gohan stared at the doorway for a moment. 

"I think I know where your appetite went, Goten...." 

 

Gohan knew where the comic shop was. With the description Goten had given him, finding Lucas hadn't been hard. 

The police didn't have a clue what could have twisted Lucas's body parts in such an extreme manner, but they ruled it a murder case due to the missing lips, tongue, and genitalia. It looked as though those body parts had been ripped off, though it was unlikely it was with teeth. So not an animal attack. 

He had been left to die in a puddle of his own blood, unable to crawl away due to broken legs and arms and a snapped spine. 

Even if they suspected it was someone from a Tenkaichi Budokai, no one would ever seriously think it was nerdy college professor Son Gohan who gave up fighting ten years ago. 

The cruelty that had been born in the Cell Games had never, ever truly died. It merely waited for the right moment. 

Son Gohan went home, cleaned up, then saw that his daughter and son were watching a cartoon Dominion really liked, sat down, and cuddled his children with the very same hands that tortured his daughter's attacker. Instead of falling asleep in his own bed, he fell asleep on the couch with his children as they continued to watch throughout the night, since Namekians didn't sleep. Piccolo meditated up in his and Gohan's room.

Vegeta watched the news flash the next morning with a raised eyebrow, not having seen such violence in a long time.


	45. Hey Mama by Nicki Minaj (Trunks)

The next day, Goku, Goten, and Tenshi were at it again. This time around, Dominion wasn't watching and was waiting impatiently but politely for Gohan to finish getting ready to take him to Pan's place. It was Playdate Day, and he was excited to see his friend again. Gohan was moving a bit slower than usual on purpose, wanting to catch at least some of Goten and Tenshi's fusion training. He still wasn't entirely sure what it comprised of or what it was for, really. He understood now what a fusion was, but why Goku was so focused on teaching Tenshi and Goten the technique was something that was lost on him for the time being. 

The whole family was none the wiser about the fate of Lucas, none of them having seen the news that morning and Gohan purposefully keeping the television off unless it was for Dominion's Steven Universe or Gravity Falls show. (Pan also watched Gravity Falls and had a "Dipper hat" and Dominion had been gifted a "Mabel sweater" on his last birthday from her, though it was much too warm to wear sweaters right then.) 

Chichi made sure Dominion had his mineral water in his tote bag before giving him a hug and telling him to have fun with Pan and to see when she and Videl could come up to the mountains to see all of them. Gohan patted Dominion on the head, giving Chichi a bit of a sad smile. 

"We'll see, Mom. You know how it's been for Videl since...." 

Chichi sighed and stood up. 

"I know. It's a shame everyone in town abandoned them like that...." 

Gohan nodded. 

Dominion looked up at them. He never knew what they were talking about when they brought up how "Mr. Satan and Videl used to be." Dominion had never known Videl to be anything other than Pan's hard-working mother who sometimes sparred and entered the Tenkaichi Budokai. 

Gohan and Dominion had left when Goten and Tenshi finally successfully fused. 

Goku shouted with glee and pumped his arms into the air. 

"Oh my God, you are _awesome_! Such raw power, wow!" 

Goku jumped up and down, ecstatic for the power level they were giving off without even trying. 

"Oh man, what should we call you, ummm.... Goshi! Or - oh, I know! Tenten! 'Cause that's in both your names!" 

Piccolo hurried out of the house to see what the heck was emitting such power from the backyard, and his eyes widened and jaw dropped at what he saw. 

A tall figure - not as tall as him or Tenshi, but taller than Goten - stood in front of Goku, arms crossed. Their skin was green like his, but no antennae - black hair instead, styled just like Goten's but shorter - and rounder ears. The resemblance to Gohan was strong around the eyes, much like with Tenshi, but they were angry, eyebrows - actual eyebrows with hair, also black - furrowed sharply and a hard frown darkening their face. 

Their clothes didn't make much sense due to neither Goten or Tenshi wearing such articles of clothing when they fused, but there was a Namekian neck covering sitting pretty on their shoulders, no cape, a vest resembling Nail's but black, and the bottom portion was orange gi pants. It wasn't the most fashionable thing in the world, but with the look on their face, it wasn't likely that anyone was going to say it to their face. 

"What is . . . going on?" Piccolo asked, taking a few steps forward. 

It sounded so weird to hear both Tenshi's and Goten's voices coming out on a single mouth, speaking at the same time. 

"Ta-da, the fusion technique: creates a single, more powerful warrior, out of two," they said, sounding very unimpressed. 

". . . Where did Tenshi's air tank go?" 

They searched through a pocket that was in the inside of their black vest and pulled out an inhaler. 

"Huh," they said. "Guess it's this now." 

"Tenten, Tenten!" Goku said, getting increasingly excited. "Let's see how high your power level can go! Please please please please!" 

Tenten rolled their eyes, then set their feet two shoulder widths apart, then uncrossed their arms and put them at their sides. Tenten let loose a yell, arms bending at the elbows and knees bending, power flooding through the air and through the ground, creating a crater underneath them. It pushed Goku and Piccolo back, and it startled Chichi as things inside the house started to topple over and break. 

Super Saiyan - something Goten had had no opportunity to reach on his own - was reached easily, and Goku and Piccolo stared in awe as their power kept climbing and climbing and climbing. 

But it seemed the fusion couldn't hold the power. 

They split very suddenly, the power cutting out abruptly. Tenshi was grabbing at her oxygen mask and pressing it hard to her face as she fell to the ground, panting and coughing into it. Her eyes were screwed shut, and she felt her mommy's hand on her back, trying to soothe her. 

She could hear Goten vomiting yet again, and when he was done, he was sobbing as though in pain. 

She could hear Chichi running out of the house to see what was going on and rushing to her son's side. 

"Goten! What happened!? Shit - ! Goku, what did you do!?" 

"Me!? I don't even know what happened, they were doing so well and - and this didn't happen to the guys in Otherworld at all!" 

Tenshi looked over at Goten, and her eyes widened as she saw his clothes and body were cut up and bloody. Panicked, she looked herself over, but Piccolo moved his hand to her shoulder. 

"You're unharmed," he said, sounding both relieved and worried. 

Mommy was telling the truth; she was fine. 

A chill ran up Tenshi's spine as Goten stammered out part of what was wrong through his tears. 

"I can't stop feeling his stupid hand on her arm and the back of her neck - !" 

It was just memories of hers, but he could . . . he could feel it as though it was happening to him? She didn't understand, how could that happen, and why was the assault affecting him more than it was affecting her? Was it the fusion's fault? Would she have been feeling that way had they not been . . . ? 

She was starting to feel overwhelmed too, and it must've shown on her face because Piccolo took her into his arms and picked her up, like she was a child once more, and held her close. 

"You should take him to Dende," Piccolo said. "And I think that's enough training for today." 

Goku frowned, but he didn't argue as he scooped Goten up in his arms and teleported both him and Chichi to the Lookout. 

Piccolo took Tenshi back into the house and fixed her some mineral water in a fancy glass while she got wrapped up in her adult-sized My Little Pony blanket on the couch. He brought the water to her and she nursed it like a child would a sippy cup. 

Meanwhile, both Gohan and Videl picked up on the power level of Tenten, as did Vegeta, Trunks, Krillin, Tenshenhan, Master Roshi, Yamcha, 18, and Chiaotzu. However, it had dissipated as soon as they felt it, and not all of them were able to pinpoint the location of the ki signal. 

Vegeta, however, had a good idea. The last time he had felt that power was ten years ago at the Tenkaichi Budokai. But it was bigger now, and he wasn't sure how that could be.... 

"Trunks! We're going to the Sons!" 

Trunks had no objections to that. He was getting really worried about Goten and Tenshi, and with feeling that power level . . . no way was he staying at home. 

Flying to the house in the mountains took time, but they made it in record time. Trunks touched down on the ground first. The ki was gone, but that didn't mean the source of it was. 

"Don't let your guard down!" Vegeta shouted after Trunks as Trunks knocked rapidly on the front door. 

Piccolo answered it, and Trunks blurted it out in a jumble. 

"What happened!? Are Tenshi and Goten okay!? What was that ki!?" 

Piccolo held a hand up, and Trunks tried to take a breath, but he was too worried. 

"Are they okay!?" 

"Goten had to be taken to Dende, but Tenshi is unhurt. She's here." 

Trunks pushed past Piccolo, and Piccolo wasn't offended, just a bit taken aback. Vegeta walked up to the doorway, and the two of them watched as Trunks approached Tenshi on the couch. 

"Boy has been forgetting his manners. He's stubborn, so punishment doesn't really work as well as it used to." 

"I wouldn't punish him for being worried about her," Piccolo said. 

Vegeta nodded. "It's not just that, though...." 

Trunks reached out for Tenshi's hand, and Tenshi turned her hand over and gripped his hand in return. Vegeta kept his eyes on that as they talked. 

"What happened, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine...." 

"What happened to Goten?" 

". . . Grandpa's back, and he was teaching us a new technique.... The power you felt was me and Goten.... It's called a fusion, and we fused to create a single warrior, and . . . and I dunno what happened. We were powering up and . . . we hadn't hit as high as we could go, not even close I don't think, but we hit what we were capable of handling.... Goten got hurt a lot worse than me.... I'm just sad." 

Vegeta's eyes widened, and he looked to Piccolo. 

"Kakarott's back?" 

Piccolo nodded. Vegeta glared at him. 

"Kakarott's back, _and you didn't tell me_!?" 

Piccolo gave Vegeta a look. "That was more Goku's fault than ours. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing over here." 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at him. 

"What do you mean exactly?" 

Piccolo didn't answer him. 

"What's wrong with Goten? Is he gonna be okay?" 

"He'll live. . . . He's just . . . ." Tenshi sighed. "I'll have to catch you up on the last few days for you to really get it but . . . can we do that in private? I don't really . . . want to talk about it with your dad listening...." 

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, looking from the teenagers to Piccolo. Piccolo avoided meeting Vegeta's eyes. 

"Yeah, of course." 

Trunks moved to go with Tenshi wherever she wanted, but Piccolo grabbed Vegeta instead and took him outside. Trunks sat back down onto the couch. 

"What happened?" 

Tenshi took a deep breath and told Trunks about Lucas, how they met, what happened afterwards, how the fusion technique meant that her and Goten's memories were coming together and tormenting the other and how it was affecting Goten. She told her about her theory that the way she was supposed to feel about it was being transferred to Goten, which wasn't fair. 

It was a lot for Trunks to take in at once - Goku being back, his best friend getting sexually assaulted and his other best friend witnessing it, both of them creating an all-new super-powerful warrior through a weird technique Goku learned on his traveling, this technique apparently being dangerous, and all of this happening in the last three-four days of them not coming to school and Trunks trying to make her jealous. It was causing him to feel various different things, but he set all that aside as he pulled her into a hug and held her. 

"It's not your fault," he said, knowing she was feeling bad about Goten getting hurt. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." 

Tenshi frowned. "That's not your fault, either.... I was being pissy at you for having a new girlfriend and spending time with her...." 

"Well . . . she's not really my girlfriend. Just kind of . . . wasting time with her, I guess," Trunks said, blushing a little. This did not feel like the appropriate time to have this conversation. But did that mean she was . . . ? 

". . . Still. You ditched us, and I was mad about that. . . ." 

Didn't sound like jealousy.... 

"Sorry." 

Tenshi leaned onto Trunks's shoulder, and Trunks held her and looked down at the top of her head. 

He loved her so much, and it pissed him off that someone had hurt her, and he was sad that she was sad, and he was upset that Goten was hurt and that this new technique wasn't being nice to either of them.... He wondered what the reason behind learning the technique was, but he'd save those questions for later. Now was just for holding Tenshi and comforting her and waiting for Goten to come back from the Lookout.


	46. Renegades by X Ambassadors (Tenshi)

Gohan and Videl were only there after Trunks and Vegeta because they were struggling to figure out what to do with Pan and Dominion because they couldn't go _with_ them to investigate the sudden power level because what if it was _dangerous_? But their only other option wasn't looking too good.... 

"My dad's not around this week, he's traveling to places that'll still pay to see him show up and do autographs, and - !" 

Gohan knew she was about to say "and we don't have the hired help anymore," but it died in her throat. He wasn't going to make her say it. 

He didn't want to suggest it, but it felt like an emergency, so what choice did they have? 

"Can I trust Diablo?" Gohan asked. 

Videl's eyes widened, and she stared at him for a long time. 

"Can I trust him with my child?" Gohan reiterated, his voice growing firmer. 

"Uh . . . . Y-yeah, I think so. He . . . he _is_ good with Pan...." 

Both of them understood their reservations about calling Diablo, but Diablo wasn't . . . completely terrible. It was more that Gohan didn't know the man and he didn't strike him as terribly responsible or even a nice person. But Videl surely saw something good in him, and Gohan was willing to give him a chance, since it was an emergency. 

Videl called Diablo up, and the phone call took a while. It sounded like he was trying to get Videl to agree to something she didn't really want to agree to, but in the end he agreed to look after both Pan and Dominion last minute, they took the kids to Diablo's, and then Gohan and Videl booked it back to the mountains to check on what the hell was going on at Gohan's home. 

Dominion had never met Diablo before, and the man was very big, tan, hairy, and decked out in leather and biker wear. He also had plenty of piercings and tattoos, and Dominion had only ever heard of men like him in books. They tended to be scary men. 

Dominion hid behind Pan, but Pan rushed over to her daddy and gave him a big hug. He lifted her off the ground and hugged her. 

"¿Como está mi tigre pequeño?"

Pan giggled and responded in Spanish. Dominion's eyes widened. Wait.... Was Pan biracial or . . . ? 

It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what type of human Videl was or how many types of humans there were. He just knew that his grandmother was a Chinese princess and that technically, he, his daddy, his uncle, and Tenshi were princes and princess. Technically. 

Also, technically, since Mommy was the son of the Demon King, Tenshi and he were prince and princess in that regard, too. But Mommy never talked about that, and the one time he had asked, Daddy had seemed confused on what they were talking about and Grandma and Mommy had put an abrupt end to the conversation and Dominion was told to never mention it again and was asked how he found out. All Dominion had done in response was hold up a book that had the history of the world in it. Mommy had looked very guilty. 

"¡Papá! ¡Eso es mi amigo Dominion! Dominion no habla español, pero es muy inteligente y le gusta leyendo."

Diablo laughed a bit. "Then it's rude to speak a language he doesn't understand in front of him, isn't it?" 

"Oh! Right! Sorry, Dominion!" 

"It's okay...." 

Dominion and Pan couldn't sense power levels, so they had no idea that anything was even really wrong back at home. 

 

By the time that Gohan and Videl got there, Veget had been let inside the house and both he and Piccolo had cups of tea in front of them while the teenagers huddled on the couch. Not cuddling, huddling. Big difference. 

"What happened!?" Gohan asked, out of breath and unable to find Goku, Chichi, or Goten in the house. Piccolo caught him up to speed while Videl stared at Vegeta and Piccolo and the tea set in front of them. She never would've thought she'd see that. 

Gohan frowned. 

"You mean . . . there's not a sudden new evil about to destroy the Earth? It was Tenshi and Goten?" 

Piccolo nodded. 

Gohan was frowning hard, and Videl picked up on his body shaking slightly. Piccolo seemed to pick up on it too, but he had no idea what was causing it. 

" _Why didn't you call my cell to tell me what was going on?_ I left Dominion with a near perfect stranger, thinking that was safer!" 

Without even waiting for a response, Gohan turned and went to hightail it out of there to get Dominion back. Videl caught up with his line of thinking, then turned to go after him. 

"Gohan, wait! Don't you want to see if Goten's all right?" 

"He's a big boy and with Dende, he'll be fine!" 

"Gohan - !" 

Videl chased after him and back into the air they went. 

Piccolo was left to stare at where Gohan had been moments before, a frown slowly settling onto his face. 

Vegeta looked over at Piccolo. 

"Have you even _used_ a phone before?" he asked him. 

Piccolo avoided looking Vegeta in the face. 

". . . I've picked up the receiver and dialed a number. . . . I can't stand the sounds it makes while connecting the call or when the numbers are pressed, and it's a general irritant." 

"And you were so focused on your daughter that there was no reason for it to occur to you to call him." Vegeta finished. "Those ears of yours must be quite the annoyance." 

". . . Sometimes." 

Tenshi and Trunks simply watched Gohan come in, get the information, then run out. They didn't even have the time to think of anything to say because Gohan was already gone. 

 

Goten was returned to them later that same day. Gohan hadn't returned with Dominion yet. 

Goten was all healed up, but not looking any more cheerful. Tenshi didn't blame him. 

Goku frowned hard, eyebrows furrowed. 

"I just don't understand. What could be going wrong with the fusion technique? This really hasn't happened before, or at least no one told me about it and they really didn't have this much trouble when they were showing me or when I did fusion while learning it myself...." 

Goku crossed his arms as he thought hard. Tenshi's eyes widened. 

"You fused with other people?" she asked. 

"Yeah, in Otherworld." 

"Who?" 

"Oh, just people I met. Pikkon, mostly, but a few times with Olibu." 

". . . Grandpa, I don't know who those people are." 

Goku shrugged. "Just a few fighters who were big heroes on their home planets before they died. Doesn't matter." 

Tenshi didn't think the identities of people her grandfather fused with didn't matter. With how this fusion thing was going, it mattered a lot to her. With how it was affecting Goten.... And her. 

"Of course, I'm not a big expert on the fusion. It was shown to me by a couple others who knew how to do the technique with each other. I could bring them here and see if they had any insights on the matter." 

Goten had been quiet this whole time, sitting on the couch on Trunks's other side. But he spoke up now. 

"I don't want to fuse anymore. I don't like it." 

Tenshi frowned, sad that the fusion technique was making him look at the carpet like that. 

She also felt guilty for being disappointed that he didn't want to anymore. If this was her last chance to be a _real_ fighter.... She really was selfish. 

Goku seemed to think along the same lines as Tenshi. 

"What!? You don't!? But - but all that power! And we know it fixes the breathing thing! Tenshi'd be able to fight if you two - !" 

"I don't want to anymore!" Goten protested, his shout coming out more injured and upset than really intended. 

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, Grandpa. I'm not gonna make him fuse with me if he doesn't want to," Tenshi said. "And these consequences are really high, Grandpa. Goten was cut up _all over_ after we defused. And that's just from powering up." 

Goku pouted, and Tenshi could see her reflection in the dark TV screen across from her. The resemblance to her grandfather was shocking as she recognized that she was failing miserably at hiding her disappointment. 

There was an unpleasant, sinking feeling as she realized she was feeling worse over not getting to be a real fighter than she did over getting sexually assaulted. And that felt so _wrong_ on a fundamental level, it was making her stomach churn. She wondered if this is what it felt like to want to vomit. 

But vomiting was really gross, and she refused to do something that gross if she could help it. 

"You're right, it's all weird no matter how we look at it. But can I at least bring my experts in? Just so they can tell us what's wrong? No one has to fuse if they don't want to, I just wanna know what's going on!" 

Goku put his hands together, pleading, and Goten refused to look at him. 

"I want to know what's wrong, too," Tenshi said, looking more at her own reflection than at Goku - and she definitely wasn't looking at Goten. 

Trunks put a hand on Goten's shoulder. Goten leaned into the touch. 

That seemed to be all the permission Goku felt he needed. 

"Be right back! Don't go anywhere!" 

Goku was gone for about thirty minutes, then he reappeared with two others. 

Trunks's mouth fell open. He was only silent for about two seconds. 

"What the fuck is going on here!?" 

A second Trunks stood in the Sons' living room, blushing a little and rubbing the back of his neck. A second Tenshi stood on Goku's other side, adjusting the bejeweled crown that wrapped around her head much like Tenshi's flowery skull caps or lacy headbands did. The second Tenshi's martial art gi was purple, as was typical for Piccolo and his spawn, but the shoes were glittery with actual jewels, and the belt around her waist was no common sash. This Tenshi had money or at least did at some point, and she showed off the wealth. Still, no rings or necklaces, similar to the first Tenshi. 

The second Trunks wore an oufit the first Trunks wouldn't be caught dead in, but he had to admit the sword on his back was pretty cool. 

Future Trunks laughed nervously. 

"Hello. I'm, uh, I'm Trunks Briefs. I've actually met two of you before - the me in this timeline, and this timeline's Tenshi - but you were both so little, and Tenshi hadn't even hatched yet - so you probably definitely don't remember me." His eyes went to Goten. "And I definitely don't know you." 

Vegeta stood up, staring at the first son. The one he had treated so poorly and had learned on what to do better for the second one. The one who had taught him that he really did love his children and cared about their well being. He wouldn't be the kind of father he was today without the man. 

"Son," Vegeta said, his voice carrying rather well for having not said it very loud. 

Future Trunks looked over at Vegeta, only just noticing him. His eyes widened, and he found himself speechless. 

Trunks grew irritated at the sight, his eyes darkening. He was Vegeta's son, dammit! Though . . . he supposed . . . now wait a minute! 

Tenshi was staring at Tenshi, both of them looking over the other and unsure if they knew what exactly they were looking at. 

"You're not how I imagined," the second Tenshi said. 

Tenshi had no idea how to react to that. The second Tenshi looked around the house. 

". . . You don't _live_ here, do you?" 

"Uh.... Yeah?" 

"Ew." 

Tenshi narrowed her eyes at her. Then she turned her head to look at Goku. 

" _These two_ are the fusion technique experts?" 

"Yup!" Goku said. 

Tenshi sighed. Somehow this didn't feel like this would be fun.


	47. The Night Is Still Young by Nicki Minaj (Trunks)

Future Trunks and Alternate Timeline Tenshi (AT Tenshi for short from this point on) listened to Goten and Tenshi's version of how their experiences with fusion have been going. AT Tenshi frowned, then looked over at Goku. 

"Did you go over meditating and learning how to set up barriers between your thoughts beforehand?" she asked. 

Goku stared at her for a moment, then laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. AT Tenshi rolled her eyes. 

"That'd'll do it," she said. 

"But _I_ already know how to do that, Mommy taught me," Tenshi said, leaning forward. 

AT Tenshi raised an eyebrow. "Mommy?" 

"Yeah, Mommy." 

She pointed to Piccolo, and AT Tenshi's eyebrows moved up her forehead. They might've gone higher had the crown not been rather tightly banded around her head. 

"I call him Father," AT Tenshi explained. 

"Well, here he's Mommy," Tenshi said, crossing her arms. 

Piccolo made a tiny bit of a face. Father sounded so . . . formal. And he was Mommy and always would be Mommy, so the idea of any version of Tenshi calling him something else felt strange. 

"Anyway," Future Trunks said, "were you doing it as you were fusing?" 

Tenshi frowned. 

"Not on the first try, but on the other tries I did try to keep the walls up, but it still felt like my memories were affecting Goten...." 

Future Trunks furrowed his eyebrows. 

"That's strange. Putting up a mental barrier should've prevented the transfer of memories you wanted to keep hidden...." 

"Emphasis on want to hide," AT Tenshi said. "Memories you don't think will bother your fusion partner will still reach them, and then you might get an _earful_ later about how _mean_ you were when you were a kid." 

Future Trunks blushed. "I wasn't going to say anything about that...." 

AT Tenshi gave him a look, and Future Trunks seemed to shrink in size. Vegeta snorted. 

"It also depends on how sensitive your partner is emotionally on what is okay and not okay to share with them. So with me, seeing Trunks's memories of his timeline's Daddy dying is very upsetting, so he keeps that from me, but he had to learn from trial and error that I also don't want to see none of his memories of crushing on him 'cause that's my Daddy and that's gross." 

Future Trunks's blush darkened significantly. Trunks snorted in a bit of a cruel way. 

"In my defense, he was not a lot like your daddy," Future Trunks muttered, and AT Tenshi gave him a look that made it clear she wasn't putting up with excuses or arguments on the matter. 

"He looked like him, and that's all that matters," she said. "Anyway, you also have to be in a good headspace in order to fuse. Significant trauma can make the fusion very difficult to do and maintain, especially if the trauma occurs in the fusing process. It hasn't happened to me or Trunks, but we've seen people get exposed to memories from another person and subsequently respond with their own grief and sometimes even PTSD because the memories get transferred so vividly." 

Tenshi's eyes widened. "Wait, it's not transferring how _you_ are responding to the trauma?" 

Future Trunks shook his head. "No, your reaction is your reaction. If something that was traumatic happened but you responded in such a way that no one would really know that you had been attacked or traumatized, then that's your reaction. But the events that didn't affect you on a deeper emotional and mental level might severely affect your partner, and the knowledge that it happened to you and not them might not soothe them or lessen the impact. There are records of people being witness to other people's trauma being just as affected by it and even finding it more horrifying than the person who actually experienced it." 

"We're not sure how _common_ that is, but it does happen," AT Tenshi clarified. 

"So . . . so this is just how I respond to . . . this, then?" Goten said slowly, a mug of tea in his hands and a blanket wrapped around him. He at least was making eye contact with people again now. "I'm . . . it doesn't feel as bad the longer it's been since I fused with her, but . . . ." 

Future Trunks nodded. "Sensitivity isn't bad, but it does mean everything is going to be more intense for you. Either desentization will occur or it'll continue to be just as painful every time you fuse with her - or possibly anyone else. There's really no telling if you don't fuse with anyone ever again. It's up to you, though. As it is, the Time Scroll for this timeline _needs_ Tenshi to fuse with someone and defeat an approaching evil, but it's . . . it's an odd scroll. All the timelines with Tenshi in them are odd." 

"What do you mean?" Trunks asked, arms crossed. 

"He means they're very much not specific as to the requirements that absolutely must not be altered. And part of it is that it is so wildly different at a point than the other timelines. Or rather, the 'main' timeline. There's a timeline that is the main timeline, and that dictates a lot of what happens in our universe. Essentially, as long as certain people still exist and certain events still occur, anything can basically happen inside the other timelines, and there are even moments in the different timelines that create even more timelines because there are events where they could have any kind of outcome, and each timeline explores what would happen in each circumstance. Sometimes it's not a very significant change, and in other cases it's so significant a change that the entire timeline is different from that point on," AT Tenshi said. 

"In this timeline, Tenshi's conception is the very literal divergent point. That one event changed this timeline's entire course from the main timeline. It even - somehow - prevented an evil called Majinn Buu from attacking the Earth." 

"We say somehow because it doesn't make too much sense. It's almost as though the person in charge of the Time Scrolls went 'eh, that's too complicated in this story, let's scrap it' and left it in many, many of the other timelines," AT Tenshi said. "Though there isn't an actual person transcribing the scrolls.... Is there?" 

She turned her head to Future Trunks. Future Trunks shrugged. 

"The god of time is the Supreme Kai of Time, but I've never seen her transcribe a scroll. She looks after them, mostly. And as far as I'm aware, they just sort of sprung into being at one point, millions of years ago. Like everything else in the world." 

"But what about our scroll? What absolutely has to happen from this point on?" Tenshi asked, leaning further forward. Goku was standing nearby, arms crossed and listening closely. Chichi was busy making more tea and fixing on dinner. 

"The things that _have_ to happen are as follows:" AT Tenshi said, holding up her hand. "1) You have to fuse with someone, 2) you have to defeat the evil that is approaching the planet using your fusion, 3) Shenron has to be summoned at some point between Evil #1 and Evil #2, Evil #2 appears and is defeated but at a great cost. And that's it. That's all that is absolutely required of your timeline. Everything is up to you and your friends and family." 

Tenshi's eyes widened, and she wasn't sure if she was terrified about that or . . excited at just how open to possibilities it was. 

"What about your timelines?" Trunks asked. "Are your timelines just as open-ended or . . . ?" 

AT Tenshi lowered her hand, and her expression grew more serious. 

"Well," Future Trunks said, " the biggest evils have already targeted my timeline. The Earth is safe for the rest of my timeline's existence. And with . . . with Mother having passed away, it felt like a better use of my time and strength to assist Supreme Kai of Time with protecting the universe from time anomalies, time-warps, and people trying to change things that must remain the same. Though it . . . gets a little complicated with my fiddling with time is literally required by the timeline I'm visiting.... Which is really weird when we consider that my meddling is _in_ the _main_ timeline and yet my timeline is a branched off portion of the main timeline and...." 

AT Tenshi cut Future Trunks off before he could make everyone's heads hurt. 

"I was brought into the Time Patrol via a wish Trunks made on Shenron. My timeline has ended. My world is gone, destroyed, dead. There's nothing for me there." There was a long pause before she spoke up again. "That monster would have killed me if Trunks hadn't made his wish." 

Tenshi, Trunks, Goten, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo stared at the two of them, unsure of what to say or if they were supposed to say anything. 

"What did . . . you wish for?" Trunks asked slowly. 

Future Trunks straightened up, shoulders back and chest puffing out just a little bit. He was clearly proud of it. 

"I wished for the strongest fighter in the universes to come work for the Time Patrol. These Maakaioshin named Towa and Mira had been messing with the different timelines, and we had needed someone really strong to fight them off." 

Tenshi's eyes widened. " _You're_ the strongest fighter in all the universes!? But - but you've got - !" 

AT Tenshi adjusted her nasal cannula. 

"Father made certain I would be able to train and work around my limitations. Sometimes I forget I don't breathe like everyone else. It is still my greatest weakness, though. I cannot afford to overspend myself, which means conserving a lot of energy. But I can still fly and use ki blasts, I just have to be mindful of them." 

"No fair! Daddy wouldn't let me...." 

AT Tenshi raised an eyebrow. " _Daddy_ kept you from training? And Father _let_ him?" 

Piccolo cleared his throat. "It, um, wasn't so much as _let_ him as . . . ." 

Tenshi adopted a grumpy face. "As it was we weren't given much of a choice in the matter...." 

AT Tenshi looked between Piccolo and Tenshi for a few moments. 

"Just what is up with this timeline...." AT Tenshi remarked. 

Just then, the front door opened and Gohan and Dominion entered the house. 

"We're ba- !" Gohan said, still sounding pissed off from earlier, but his frown fell away and his eyes widened when he saw Future Trunks and AT Tenshi in the living room. Dominion stared as well, carrying a new book in his arms. It was about motorcycles; Pan seemed to really like the inventions, and Diablo rode them and it just seemed best to do some research on the machines. 

Gohan didn't say anything for a long time. Future Trunks was the first to say something. 

"Wow, you've really grown up, Gohan! Never thought you'd need glasses, though." 

"Who's the shrimp?" AT Tenshi asked. 

Dominion tilted his head to the side. 

"Who're they? Daddy? Mommy?" 

"Well . . . _one_ of them is the Trunks from the future I told you about." 

"From the Cell Games story?" 

"Yeah...." 

"And this is Tenshi from another dimension.... I guess you don't have any little brothers in your timeline?" Piccolo said, addressing the first to Dominion and the second to AT Tenshi. 

AT Tenshi shrugged. "I had a lot of older half-brothers and half-sisters, but no little brothers." She smiled for the first time and held her head up. "I'm the _only_ one of my brothers and sisters to pop out of Father's throat, making _me_ the heir to the throne." 

More staring at this statement, though Future Trunks started to laugh nervously and rub the back of his neck. 

"The - throne?" Goku asked, both he and Chichi getting similar facial expressions as Piccolo was right then. Everyone else was just confused. 

"Yup! You're lookin' at the one and only Demon Queen of the entire world!" 

AT Tenshi stuck her thumb at herself, the pride rolling off her in waves

"Ohhhhhh no," Chichi groaned. 

"Eh heh, looks like you took over the world in that one, Piccolo," Goku said, grinning but not in a happy way. 

"And - and you're still Gohan's?" Piccolo asked, double-checking. 

AT Tenshi nodded. "Yup! Father was busy a lot of the time, so Daddy took care of me until I was big enough to take care of myself. Then he was right beside Father in all of Father's royal duties." 

Piccolo was becoming pale, and he didn't want to know what that timeline entailed at all. 

Dominion saw his mommy's expression and went over to him and gave him a hug. 

Tenshi looked from AT Tenshi, to Chichi and Goku, to Piccolo, then to Gohan. She was glad that at least Gohan and Dominion had no idea what they were talking about.


	48. Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy (Future Trunks, Goten, Tenshi)

As the day drew to a close, Vegeta and Trunks had to go home, and it was a little uncertain what Future Trunks and AT Tenshi should do. Future Trunks did want to spend time with his family in this timeline (though he had no knowledge of the little sister he had in this timeline), and AT Tenshi was curious as to how her family was different in this timeline, but neither wanted to be apart from the other really. 

"How about we settle it this way?" Vegeta said, getting irritated by the mutterings and grumblings of Future Trunks and AT Tenshi over what they should do. "You both come home with me and Trunks, and the Sons are required to visit us tomorrow morning. I demand a match, Kakarott!" 

Goku held up his hands, grinning and laughing a little. "Right, right! I'll definitely be there!" And Tenshi could see the sincerity of the statement, the eagerness in fighting Vegeta once again. 

She had never seen them fight, and she was rather excited to see it, then felt bad for wanting to in the midst of literally everything else. Goten was miserable, she didn't even know what was going on between her and Trunks (was she still angry? what was his deal before when he told them they couldn't come over anyway?), Grandma wasn't happy about Grandpa being back, and . . . all she could really bring herself to care about was fighting. 

That's all she ever cared about, and it was making her feel guilty. 

AT Tenshi, however, seemed to feel the same way, but was not guilty at all about it if the grin on her face was any indication. 

"He put up a good fight, Goku?" AT Tenshi asked. 

Goku nodded. 

"Yup! Vegeta's a great fighter!" 

"Then I look forward to watching. Later, gators." 

It sounded so weird to hear her voice call Grandpa Goku. She knew it was his name, but it just sounded . . . weird. 

After Future Trunks and AT Tenshi left with Vegeta and Trunks, the air in the house was still oddly charged with excitement, grief, anxiety, and frustration as the conflicting emotions of everyone in the home bounced off the walls and onto each other and absorbed into the skins of those sensitive to the auras and reflected and unnoticed by those who were not. 

Goten always had been more sensitive than the rest of them. He went upstairs to take a shower, then went to bed. 

Tenshi could see the vein in Daddy's forehead throbbing and overheard him ranting to Mommy about Dominion having been left with Diablo (Pan's father, who Tenshi had never ever met) for hours and "had I not gotten there in time, they'd have been riding around on the man's motorcycle! _Motorcycle!_ He didn't have enough helmets for them!" Tenshi could practically see Mommy's attempts to interrupt and ask if Daddy was misrepresenting the situation and that it was one at a time with the appropriate head gear being shared or actually all at once and how each attempt failed miserably. Then their conversation went to Future Trunks and AT Tenshi arriving, why they were there, and what it meant for their timeline. 

"Two evils are going to be coming?" 

"Yeah." 

"And - and Tenshi's supposed to fight them?" 

"That's what they said. It's the very few unalterable events in our timeline, it seems.... They will probably get involved if anything tries to prevent it from happening." 

Tenshi was downstairs while they were upstairs, so she couldn't see them, but she imagined Daddy's fists clenching and his teeth gritting. 

"So if you try to stop her - " 

"I get it." 

Mommy was quiet for a moment, then, "This isn't an I Told You So moment. But . . . she'd be better prepared for it if we had - "

" _Shut up._ " 

Their conversation was over after that, and Tenshi and Dominion watched as Mommy joined them in the living room instead of staying upstairs with Daddy. 

Tenshi tried to remember a time when Daddy had ever kicked Mommy out of their room since getting married, and she couldn't think of one. Neither could Dominion. 

The three Namekians meditated together until sunrise in the living room, each thinking of different things whenever their minds started to wander. 

Tenshi thought about the power she and Goten wielded as Tenten, how it was too much even for a fusion, and the wonder that was the potential that was locked inside of her too-weak body. She thought about AT Tenshi and how she was the most powerful being in the universe and wondered how much of it was potential locked inside of her - inside of both of them - and if she could have been that powerful being if she just knew how to harness it better. 

Dominion thought about Pan and Diablo and how Pan gushed over the metallic motorbike and the leather jacket and her dad's tattoos, how cool he looked, how she wanted to look just like him. He thought about Diablo laughing at him as he prattled off on the risks of reckless driving and road safety as he showed off a bike trick, Diablo . . . affectionately? calling him "pobre sito" and patting him on the head, his rough finger pads feeling so strange in comparison to his daddy's smooth ones. Diablo teasing Pan in Spanish, and Pan responding "ew, no, he's not my boyfriend! Yuck!" and how he had been avoiding thinking about how much that had hurt. Maybe if he was cooler.... 

Piccolo was much more skilled at keeping his mind blank. But even he had thoughts crawling into his headspace. The coldness that had been in Gohan's voice. The odd edge that was in his voice and the odd look in his eyes. Something had changed.... But what? He'd have assumed that it was the fact that they had both failed to protect Tenshi from that teenager, but . . . somehow he didn't think that was it. No, something else was different now.... 

Piccolo was shocked out of his meditative state as he remembered what it reminded him of. 

It could've stood out about any of the monsters they've fought, honestly, and Piccolo couldn't really decide which threat it reminded him of. Cell, with his relentless but controlled destruction? Frieza, wanton and furious? 17 and 18, cold and calculating in their revenge and rage? Dare he even suggest it . . . himself, from his youthful days, and his father? 

But . . . but this was Gohan.... Gohan wasn't evil, he knew that in his gut. He wasn't being biased, Gohan wasn't evil.... And truthfully, neither really was 18 or 17, so . . . . 

What did it mean? 

Piccolo sat, not meditating, for the rest of the night with those thoughts rolling around in his head as his children continued to meditate, blissfully unaware of what their mommy was thinking. 

Morning came, and Goku and Tenshi were the most excited to go to the Briefs's house. 

 

At the Briefs' home, Trunks woke up earlier than usual due to his phone going off. It was playing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" at an ungodly volume because that was his default ringtone. He answered it rather reluctantly, putting the phone to his ear. 

"'Ello?" 

He tried not to groan when he heard Kurisutaru's voice on the other end. 

"What're you calling so early for?" 

"It's 8am and Gym Day," Kurisutaru said. 

Trunks snorted hard at the image of Kurisutaru in a gym, though it took him a moment to realize she meant a regular gym and not one specifically geared towards martial artists. Hers was most likely yoga or zumba or whatever new-age exercise craze was all the rage these days. Trunks really didn't keep up with that stuff since when you were Vegeta's son, you never were out of shape. 

"I wanted to let you know that I was going to bring a few friends to our get-together at your place today, and that I'm going to be a little late." 

Trunks was having the hardest time figuring out what she was talking about, but when it clicked in his brain, he very suddenly wasn't tired anymore. 

Shit! She had seen the pool and Trunks had very absentmindedly said she could come over and swim in it whenever! His future self was here! And a Tenshi from another timeline! And Tenshi and Goten were going to be here today! 

Wait, Tenshi was going to be here today. 

The entire point to seeing Kurisutaru was to get Tenshi jealous. 

Right. 

And if she was bringing friends, then.... 

"Yeah, okay. That's fine. Say, I'm actually having other people come over, too. Are, uh, are any of yours single?" 

"One of them is. Why?" 

"Well, one of my friends could really use a new friend, and we could, y'know," Trunks said. 

"Set them up?" 

"Yeah, that." 

Kurisutaru laughed a little. 

"You're more like us than I thought you would be. I'm glad." 

Trunks's eyebrow twitched at that. What was _that_ supposed to mean? More like who? 

Their conversation ended soon after that, and Trunks rolled out of his bed and changed out of his sleepwear into daywear. 

Goten could use something to take his mind off of the madness that had been going on. A pretty girl with time and money to waste would be a good distraction, right? 

He wouldn't admit it to himself that he had a bit of a more ulterior motive. He wanted Goten to be entirely occupied while he worked his sort-of plan on Tenshi, though it also felt like the _worst_ timing for it. But he couldn't really back out of it now, could he? 

He really wanted to see how she'd react if she saw him holding another girl's hand or putting his arm around her shoulders and shit like that. He wanted to see if there was an inkling of the same fury and jealousy that he felt when she made-out with other dudes. 

He . . . he wanted his first kiss to be with Tenshi, though. So he really didn't know how far he was willing to take this. 

In many ways, he had no idea what he was doing. 

 

Bulma was greeted in the morning with AT Tenshi raiding her fridge and putting lots of fruit into a water bottle. Bulma knew of fruit-infused water, but she really hadn't expected her new house guest to be making herself this much at home. Even Vegeta had had a bit of a getting-used-to-it period. Future Trunks was up after Vegeta, and Vegeta was warming up in the front yard, getting ready to spar with Goku when he arrived. Future Trunks and AT Tenshi stayed with Bulma for now, Future Trunks and Bulma catching up. Future Trunks said very little about what had gone on in his own timeline, focusing more on his adventures and time patrol business with the Supreme Kai of Time and AT Tenshi. He and AT Tenshi took turns telling her about Towa and Mira, the different timeline anomalies they had to fix, and Demigra the Demon God they had to overcome. 

Bra soon joined them in the kitchen, and Future Trunks got to meet her for the first time (since she had gone to bed when he, AT Tenshi, Trunks, and Vegeta had come from the Sons residence). 

"Hi there! I'm Trunks, your big brother, from a different timeline. It's nice to meet you, Bra!"

Bra grinned at him and hugged him. "You're the one from the story!" 

Future Trunks hugged her back, and Bulma smiled. 

AT Tenshi smiled from behind her water bottle, then pretended she hadn't found it absolutely adorable when she lowered it. 

Trunks entered the kitchen then, sighing heavily. 

"Mom, I've got sorta bad news. Kurisutaru is coming over again today, she's bringing friends. Good news, Goten, Tenshi, and the others are also coming over, and I guess it's a combo of Dad and Goku sparring and a pool party." 

Bulma stared at Trunks for a long moment, then opened her mouth to respond, but AT Tenshi spoke up first. 

"Pool party? As in . . . there's a swimming pool here?" 

Trunks nodded. "Yeah, it's out back." 

AT Tenshi grinned rather wickedly. 

"I know what _I'm_ doing before and after Goku and Vegeta's fight!" 

Without any warning, she zapped herself with a clothes beam and fashioned herself some swim trunks. 

Trunks, Future Trunks, and Bulma all couldn't help but stare at the crotch area, due to the significantly sized bulge that was there. They then immediately looked away and pretended they hadn't looked at all. 

They shouldn't have been surprised, Piccolo was packing and always had been. His offspring apparently were no exception, regardless of gender identity. 

"Catch ya later!" AT Tenshi said, walking off in search for the pool, carrying her water bottle with her. 

Bra weasled out of Future Trunks's arms, running off and squealing about putting on her new swimsuit and joining AT Tenshi in the pool. The adults (well, adults and teenager) were left sitting or standing there, reflecting on how the swim trunks hadn't left much to the imagination. 

It occurred to Trunks that he had never actually seen Tenshi wear anything like that recently - the last time being when they were children - and he found himself wondering if he could assume that AT Tenshi and Tenshi were the same size, or if it varied between timelines. 

Future Trunks was turning bright red, and he covered his face a little bit as his thoughts went to a particular place. 

Trunks simply cleared his throat and left the room. Muttering something about setting up music speakers for the pool area. 

Bulma sat herself across from Future Trunks and gave him a comforting smile. 

"Are you all right?" she asked. 

Future Trunks made a muffled noise, but Bulma couldn't discern what it meant at all. 

"You'll have to repeat that, dear," she said, reaching out and gently pulling Future Trunks's hands away from his face. 

He was cherry red in the face, and Bulma was trying not to laugh. 

"You're acting like you have a crush on her or something," Bulma said. 

The red in his face darkened, and Bulma realized she had hit the nail on the head. 

"You _do_ have a crush on her!" 

Future Trunks hung his head, avoiding looking her in the face. 

"I respect her as a fighter, and while I very much appreciate our work relationship . . . I care about her a lot and . . . ." His blush spread. "And sometimes I look at her and wish she'd bend me over a desk and - "

"Whoa, easy there, tiger!" Bulma said, failing not to laugh just a little bit. 

"Oh - ! Shit -! I mean - ! I'm sorry!" Future Trunks covered his mouth and shrunk in his seat. Laughing was becoming harder to avoid for Bulma. "She makes me nervous and sometimes I just blurt out stuff I don't mean to say out loud when I think about her that way...." 

Bulma thought that was the cutest thing ever. 

"Does she know you like her?" Bulma asked. 

Future Trunks shook his head no. 

"Why not? You should tell her!" 

Future Trunks looked back up at Bulma, frowning. 

"It's not that simple.... Not with how her timeline was...." 

Bulma tilted her head, looking at him curiously, but the conversation was cut short by Vegeta coming in and getting food. Future Trunks got up and muttered something about needing the bathroom. 

The TV was playing in the background, and they were playing an update on Lucas's murder, simply to tell them that the investigation was still going but that very little evidence had surfaced, but that police had managed to find half of a fingerprint that police hoped would direct them towards the killer. 

Vegeta focused rather intently on the news report, still finding the violence present in the murder to be rather familiar.... 

If he didn't know better, he'd say a Saiyan did it.


	49. Talking Body by Tove-Lo (Trunks)

The Sons arrived first, Tenshi and Goten blissfully unaware that the reason Trunks had ditched them about . . . a week ago at this point was going to be there today. Though Goten wasn't bliss _ful_. He still looked rather down, but it was better than yesterday. Time healed many things, and Goten was tough. 

Tenshi fully intended to take advantage of Goku and Vegeta sparring and imagined that some training would occur for herself, whether it be fusion training with Future Trunks and AT Tenshi or just participating in Vegeta's training. So she wasn't in her typical dress wear once again, sticking with her purple gi. Though she looked awfully plain compared to her alternate self. Oh well. 

Goku's instant transmission technique made coming over a lot easier than driving in the car or flying would have made it, and Dominion, having never teleported before, was both terrified and in awe. The ten-year-old was so shocked by the technique that he was speechless for quite some time. 

"Goku!" Bulma called out as she went out to greet them. "Where the hell have you been!?" 

She flung herself at him, hugging him tightly, and Goku hugged her in return. 

It was weird for . . . everyone, really, to see Goku greet Bulma with more active affection than he had greeted Chichi when he came back. Bulma clearly hadn't been there for comparison, so nothing about it seemed strange, but Chichi ignored them both and went into the house. For the moment, Bulma was too focused on catching up with Goku to notice. 

Goten shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then brought his hand up to hug his opposite arm to his side. Gohan became noticeably irritated, but did his best to not let it taint how he treated Bulma. He succeeded. 

"Where're the Trunkses and the other Tenshi?" Goku asked after telling Bulma some about what he had been up to. 

"One Trunks is inside the house, and the other two are out by the pool. _Apparently_ we're having additional guests Trunks is setting things up for, and the other Tenshi liked the sound of our pool." 

Tenshi furrowed her eyebrows, and Goten frowned. 

"Additional?" she asked. 

"Who?" Goten added. 

Bulma sighed and rubbed her temple a bit. 

"A girl he hooked up with at one of those fancy business parties I sometimes drag the family to. I swear, I don't know what that boy is thinking sometimes, I _never_ would've thought she'd be his type, but whatever." 

Tenshi frowned, and she and Goten looked over at each other. 

The two teenagers made their way around to the pool area. 

Despite AT Tenshi's air tank being a less technologically advanced model, AT Tenshi was fairing quite well in the water with the tank strapped to her back like it was scuba gear. Tenshi's eyebrow twitched as she noticed AT Tenshi's swim wear. Dammit.... 

Trunks was out of the water messing with the speakers, finishing up with them and hooking his iPod up to it and pressing play. Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" started to play. 

Tenshi could imagine very vividly her Mommy scrambling for his earplugs now that the speakers were projecting the sound from them. 

"Hey," Trunks said as he walked over to them, putting his hands into his pockets. 

"Hey," Tenshi and Goten said in unison. Trunks was rather impressed that they did manage to do that more than every now and them. It was probably due to spending so much time with each other. 

"So you're having another guest over?" Goten said. 

"Uh, yeah.... I had kinda forgot I invited her." 

"You forgot you invited your _girlfriend?_ " Tenshi said. 

"I told you she wasn't my girlfriend." 

"Well, what else am I supposed to call her? You can't be using her for her money, so she's not a sugar momma." 

"Tenshi!" Goten reprimanded in a hushed voice. 

AT Tenshi had stopped swimming laps and was listening in. 

"So what, you're having sex with her or something?" 

"N-no, I'm not having sex with her...." 

Trunks was realizing that his plan might not be working out as well as he had wanted it to. 

"But she's pretty to look at, right?" 

"I - I guess so." 

Goten looked to and fro between them, not understanding why this was happening. They had seemed to be getting along again back at home.... What changed all of a sudden? 

"So that's how you waste time with her? Just staring at her?" 

Trunks didn't have an answer set up for this kind of interrogation. He was tripping on his words before they had even reached his mouth, and his tongue felt tied. 

Goten managed to save him. 

"Is she nice?" 

Well, at least save him from Tenshi's line of questioning. 

"I . . . wouldn't describe her that way, but I'm sure she has her moments." 

Tenshi rolled her eyes. 

"You're totally having sex with her." 

"I am not!" 

Trunks knew that perhaps lying and agreeing with Tenshi about the sex thing might be a way to get her jealous, but he also didn't want it to seem like he wasn't available. Like she couldn't jump in at any moment. Sex sounded like it would make the relationship between him and Kurisutaru a commitment (though, he supposed, he should expect Tenshi to _not_ see sex that way with how _she_ had been acting lately. Thinking that, however, made Trunks feel guilty in the light of what had happened at the comic shop because that _asshole_ responded in a very not-okay way to Tenshi's lack of commitment.) Hell, he didn't even really want to lie and say he had kissed her, though that would be less commitment-y than sex. 

Tenshi just walked off into the house, and Trunks let out a frustrated noise, running his hands through his hair. 

Goten watched her go, then watched Trunks's reaction. He frowned. 

"If you have the hots for Tenshi, what're you doing exactly with this other girl?" 

"I don't even know anymore!" Trunks said exasperated. 

He calmed down, then went over to Goten and rested his head on Goten's shoulder. Goten lifted his arm and patted Trunks on his opposite shoulder. 

"There, there." 

Trunks sighed. 

"I wanted to make her jealous, but she just doesn't seem to care much outside of . . . outside of normal friend stuff. Y'know what I mean?" Trunks asked. 

Goten thought about it for a few moments and compared how he felt about Trunks to how Tenshi was acting. 

"I'd . . . say that's a fair assumption," Goten said. "She's also said she isn't ready for a relationship right now, so even if she did like you back...." 

Trunks groaned and buried his face into Goten's shoulder. Goten continued to pat him. 

AT Tenshi stayed perfectly silent. The two boys seemed to entirely forget she was even there. 

"And she hasn't even been in the mood for random make-outs with strangers since you-know-what, so I think anything that you're looking for from her just isn't going to happen, Trunks," Goten said after a while of thinking hard about it. 

Trunks lifted his head off of Goten's shoulder, and Goten wished he hadn't been the one to make him look that sad. 

"You're probably right. You know her even better than I do...." 

"Boys! Tenshi! Goku and Vegeta are going to fight!" Bulma's voice floated over to them. 

Trunks sighed and headed back to the front of the house, and Goten followed. 

AT Tenshi climbed out of the pool, not bothering to zap her previous clothes back on and just walked around in her swim trunks. Her crown was still perfectly wrapped around her head. 

 

Goku had become even stronger than before, and defeating Vegeta had occurred faster than any of them had really expected. Goku was disappointed, Vegeta was furious with himself. Goku attempted to explain how it was he got so strong, but the man's pride had been injured and he wasn't in the mood. For as much as Vegeta had matured over the years, he was still a prideful, prideful man and threw a bit of a fit whenever his pride was injured. It just took more to injure it from before, but when it came to fighting, not much had changed about how he felt about it. 

Consequently, Vegeta stormed to the Gravity Room and wasn't seen from for a while. 

"I didn't mean to, I was sure Vegeta's training would've had him keep up...." Goku said, rubbing the back of his neck and frowning. "It's not like he's slacked off...." 

"You were in Otherworld and had access to types of training that have been long forgotten for centuries," Future Trunks said. "It's natural that those of us with access to forgotten martial art techniques would end up becoming stronger than those who do not." 

Future Trunks would not have said anything about it had Vegeta still been right there to hear him, but since he wasn't.... 

"It was still really cool, though," Tenshi said. " _And_ Vegeta is still one of the most powerful warriors on the planet. He lasted a lot longer than I would, or Goten or Trunks." 

Goten and Trunks nodded in agreement. 

Goku turned his attention onto the teenagers. 

"Speaking of which, I haven't gotten to see how all three of you have changed individually. Can we see what your power levels are right now?" 

Tenshi smirked. "You know I can't do that, Grandpa." 

"But they can!" Goku gestured to Goten and Trunks. "I wanna see!" 

Goten and Trunks sighed, then took a few steps away from each other and got into ready stances. Feet two shoulder widths apart, wrists at belt level, they took deep breaths and were about to rip and let loose. 

Right when a car horn beeped, indicating a car was being parked and locked just outside of the Capsule Corp compound. Trunks groaned loudly as he realized who that was. 

"It needs a rain check, Goku, non-fighter humans are here," Trunks said, dropping the ready stance and going to let Kurisutaru and her friends she was bringing onto the grounds. 

"Awwww, c'mon!" Goku said, pouting. 

Trunks ignored him, and Goten followed after him. Tenshi frowned, but not because of them bailing, and headed back into the house. AT Tenshi followed Tenshi. 

AT Tenshi caught up to Tenshi and put her arm around Tenshi's shoulders, pulling her close and getting her a little wet. 

"What're you - ?" Tenshi asked, but AT Tenshi interrupted. 

"Is Trunks your boy or someone else's?" 

Tenshi stared at her for a few moments, not comprehending the question. 

"What?" 

"Is Trunks _your_ boy or someone _else's_?" 

"I don't understand what that's supposed to mean." 

AT Tenshi sighed, then continued to walk along with Tenshi, her arm still around Tenshi's shoulders. 

"Are you attracted to him?" 

Tenshi looked for a moment like AT Tenshi had insulted her somehow, but then the look on her face fell away to a frown. She looked away from her. 

"What's it matter? He's fooling around with Ms. Pretty Face." 

"You haven't even seen her yet." 

"Have to, she's Google-able." 

". . . What's Google?" 

". . . Do you know what the Internet is?" 

"Nope." 

"Never mind what Google is, then. Point is, she _is_ pretty. She's human and normal and pretty." 

AT Tenshi raised an eyebrow at her. 

"You're gorgeous." 

Tenshi refused to look at AT Tenshi. AT Tenshi slipped her arm off Tenshi's shoulders, then grabbed both her shoulders and made her look at her. 

"You really think you're not as good-looking at some human?" 

Tenshi didn't say anything, but she nodded slowly after a moment passed. A vein twitched in AT Tenshi's forehead. 

"Okay, I don't know what it's like here in this timeline. I just got here. But in my timeline? Father and I are the most _gorgeous_ creatures on the planet. Daddy loved us more than anything, and not a day went by that I didn't know that I was powerful, beautiful, and better than everyone else out there. I am the Demon Queen, heir to the Throne of Earth, and had men and women alike bending over backwards for me. And I had my pick of _whoever_ I wanted. You _are_ me, and you are just as beautiful and powerful and good. Trunks - and anyone else - would be the most lucky motherfucker to be with you. Understand?" 

Tenshi listened closely and nodded. AT Tenshi could see the tears welling up in her eyes, but Tenshi wiped them away before they could stain her cheeks. 

"Now," AT Tenshi continued. "are you attracted to him?" 

Tenshi was silent for a while, but there was a purple blush on her cheeks, and AT Tenshi knew the answer to that. 

"But," Tenshi started, "I'm not ready for a relationship and he's my best friend, next to Goten, and - "

"Who cares? You can take things at your own pace, and I bet you anything he's willing to do that," AT Tenshi said, smirking. It paid to have information. 

"How can you be so confident?" 

AT Tenshi snorted. "I'm the _Demon Queen_ , hello!" 

Tenshi managed to smile at that, and AT Tenshi patted her on the shoulder. 

"So what're you waiting for? Go get 'im!" 

AT Tenshi ushered Tenshi back outside, pushing her towards where Trunks and Goten disappeared to, then dusted her hands off and put them on her hips. She grinned to herself, then headed back for the pool.


	50. Fancy by Iggy Azaela (AT Tenshi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I work at a theme park that has historical antebellum plantation homes and some other buildings from the time period, so I figured I'd throw in the weird, awkward race stuff we deal with at work into this chapter since it's relevant to the character in question. It will be explored more at length in the side-fic that will explore Future Trunks's and AT Tenshi's lives and relationship and AT Tenshi's timeline, so if that subject bothers you extensively, it won't be brought up much in this fic. You'll just have to deal with it for a couple chapters. FYI, what happens in this chapter is more extreme than what I've encountered at work, but the level of awkward gets pretty close.

Kurisutaru waited at the gate for Trunks to open it. With her were three other girls, two of whom were looking at the smart phones (Capsule Corp brand) and one of whom was shifting her weight from foot to foot. Their tops were clearly swimsuit tops, and they each wore skirts to cover their bottom halves to be more public-appropriate until they reached the pool. 

"Welcome," Trunks said to them, not feeling like putting up a fake front for these girls, even though he was the one who invited them. 

Kurisutaru walked through the gate first, and Goten caught up to Trunks and was watching a few feet behind him. He had a feeling maybe he was supposed to be a little embarrassed or blown away by how pretty they were or something like that, but he felt nothing like that. They were just girls in swimsuits, not that different to him than seeing Videl or Pan or his mother in a swimsuit. They were just his age. 

While it had not been occupying Goten's thoughts much, he was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with him, if Tenshi was so into boys and Trunks was into girls (regardless of body parts) and Goten was into . . . nobody. 

"Thank you for inviting us. Trunks, these are my sister Rubi and the Polerex twins, Chrome and Fox. And your two friends are . . . ?" 

Trunks hadn't known Tenshi had followed him here until he turned his head around to see that she had caught up with them too. Trunks had a bad feeling about what was going to happen when he realized Tenshi really was not wearing her usual clothes and was in her purple gi. The routine had become common for the three of them, but it was never pleasant. 

"This is Goten and Tenshi," Trunks said, sounding a little strained. 

Kurisutaru laughed lightly. "Oh, that's cute, you found friends with similar names." 

"Actually - " Goten started. 

"We're related," Tenshi said.

"Yeah, I'm her, um...." 

Goten and Tenshi shared a look for a moment, neither really sure if they should lie or tell the truth. They hadn't ever come to a consensus about what was the best idea whenever they were explaining this, though you would think that by this point they would have. But things came up, like people learning that Goten called Gohan "brother" while Gohan was "Daddy" to Tenshi and then things got very awkward when people had been told they were cousins. 

"My dad's his brother," Tenshi said ultimately, being the one less embarrassed by the fact. Goten blushed a little, knowing that once they met Gohan, they'd do the math, and then think stuff happened that didn't happen, and he'd wish he could bury himself in the ground or something. 

"That's even cuter," Kurisutaru said. Her voice had a weird inflection that told Tenshi that she was being nice to them for a reason, and she didn't think it was because Trunks told her to be. She held her hand out to them both, and Goten and Tenshi took turns shaking it. 

Kurisutaru motioned for Rubi to walk beside her, then put her hands on Rubi's shoulders. 

"Say hello, Rubi." 

Rubi did not seem to be that much younger than Kurisutaru to require any kind of prompting to say hello. It made Goten and Tenshi raise their eyebrows, and Rubi flushed with embarrassment. 

"'Ello...." she said softly. She didn't really look like she wanted to be there. 

"She's very shy, so you must forgive her for that. But she'd love to talk to you." 

Kurisutaru pushed Rubi more towards Tenshi, which made Tenshi's eyebrow raise even further. Rubi looked back at her sister with a look Tenshi couldn't read very well, then back at Tenshi and straightened her back a little. 

"There's a pool . . . ?" 

". . . Yeah, out back," Tenshi said, eyebrows starting to furrow and giving both Kurisutaru and Trunks a questioning look. "C'mon." 

She'd take her to the pool, leave her with AT Tenshi, then come back to interrogate Trunks about what the hell was going on. 

Trunks also wasn't sure what was happening, but he was getting a bad feeling about what it was. As they walked away, he looked at Kurisutaru. 

"Was that your single friend?" Trunks asked. 

"Yeah, she really has to get out more, and - "

"What made you think Tenshi was the one I wanted to set up?" 

"You were gonna set me up with someone?" Goten interrupted, feeling a little anxious and irritated over the idea. 

Kurisutaru was silent for a moment, and the two twins looked up from their phones. 

"You mean that wasn't the boy you wanted - ?" 

"Tenshi's not a _boy_ ," Trunks said very firmly. "And she's not into girls that way." 

Tenshi had not moved too far away from them to not be able to hear the conversation. Her hands balled into fists. 

"What's wrong?" Rubi asked. 

Tenshi's teeth gritted together. "You upset that you're here at all or that you have to talk to my ugly mug 'cause your sister said you had to?" 

Rubi was quiet for a long moment, then said, "I only get invited when she has a boy she wants me to talk to. So I don't want to be here, no...." 

"Well, good for you, 'cause I'm no boy and Goten's not interested. Make a right at the end of the wall, and it's on the left." 

Rubi looked at her, shocked, and Tenshi was very prepared to bite back a mean retort if she came back with questioning her gender, but instead the girl said, "You mean . . . I can just have fun? I get to stay even though you're mad?" 

"Why the fuck not? It's not my place.... And your suit's too cute not to put to good use." 

It was a really cute swimsuit, with little ducks on it. 

Rubi grinned, then started running for the pool. 

That almost made Tenshi feel better. 

Tenshi stood there with gritted teeth and clenched fists and thought about what she should do. She could turn around, give that bitch a piece of her mind. 

But the disappointment and sadness was catching up with her. She knew she had the typical build of a human male. Humans didn't know what Namekians were, let alone that they had vaginas in their throats, and she was the only female Namekian she knew of. 

She knew Kurisutaru had assumed she was the "boy" to set Rubi up with because she was green and looks like a freak and ugly to boot.... She might've been gorgeous in AT Tenshi's timeline, but here.... 

Here she only scored dudes because of the freaky alien kink factor, and she was perfectly aware of that. She took advantage of that for a little fun here and there, but it didn't make her feel good when she was meditating late into the night with nothing else to occupy her thoughts. 

Trunks would rather spend time with an attractive, rich human girl with an attitude problem and wasn't nice to her little sister than spend time with her now, and there wasn't anything she could do about it. 

It was best to just let him - and her feelings for him - go. Like she had resolved to do beforehand.... 

She drug herself back to the pool area, but she didn't clothes-beam a suit for herself. She just rolled up her pants and sat on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. Watching AT Tenshi and Rubi swim around. AT Tenshi and Rubi had gotten introduced without Tenshi seeing it, so Tenshi had no idea if AT Tenshi had picked out a different name for herself or if the story was twins with uncreative parents. She ultimately didn't care either way. 

Eventually, Trunks, Goten, Kurisutaru, Chrome, and Fox arrived at the pool, Trunks and Goten looking very unhappy and Chrome and Fox looking over at Tenshi curiously, and Tenshi was so not in the mood for this. 

Kurisutaru was grabbing onto Trunks's arm, and Tenshi purposefully looked away, glaring at the pool water instead. 

AT Tenshi paused her laps around the pool and watched, then looked at Tenshi, then back, then rolled her eyes and swam over to Tenshi. She pulled herself up out of the pool enough to whisper to Tenshi. 

"Yo, what happened? I thought you were gonna get your boy?" 

Tenshi turned her head further away from Trunks and Kurisutaru, so much that she couldn't even see them out of the corner of her eye. 

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. She can keep him." 

AT Tenshi raised an eyebrow. 

"All right, the fuck'd he do, 'cause I'll kick his ass for you if you want," AT Tenshi continued to whisper. 

"He didn't do anything...." 

AT Tenshi stared at Tenshi for a moment, then looked over at Kurisutaru, then back at Tenshi. 

She had an idea. 

Trunks was mumbling something about needing to change into his swim wear first and that Goten could borrow some from him when AT Tenshi swam over and aimed the clothes beam at him. 

It wasn't swim trunks she zapped onto him. 

The fashion honestly had never quite been seen in their timeline in its exact form. A golden choker was now around Trunks's neck, bejeweled with sapphires and amethysts to go with his hair and eye color. There were golden bangles clamped around Trunks's wrists as well, with the same jewels embedded into it. His shirt was gone, and his pants were now bright white with a yellow waistband and yellow ankle bands. Before Trunks could question the sudden costume change out loud, AT Tenshi then grabbed Trunks, drug him into the water, held onto him (despite him starting to squirm and fight back) swam him to the other end of the pool, then drug both herself and him out and carried him to the top of the diving board. 

The others were so confused by what was happening that no one was actually moving to stop her. 

"Uh . . . What're you doing!?" Tenshi shouted up at her. 

"And what's the outfit for?!" Goten shouted up as well. 

Inside the house, Future Trunks had decided to stay out of sight of the new visitors because explaining why there were two Trunkses would probably be confusing and something he wanted to avoid. But the shouting from the pool area wasn't sounding good. Especially when Goten asked about the outfit. 

From where Future Trunks was located in conjunction with the pool, it would still take him a while to get there. 

"We're playing pretend! So who's willing to pony up for him?" AT Tenshi called down to them. 

The confusion continued, but they were starting to clue in. And wish they weren't. 

"Pony up? Pony up _what_?" Kurisutaru asked, for once having a very similar expression and thought process as Trunks, Tenshi, and Goten. 

"Please say it's not money," Goten said, getting a sinking feeling. 

"Money! Well, pretend, not-real money 'cause this is for pretend, but - yeah!" 

Goten shut his eyes and cringed. 

"Oh my god," Chrome and Fox said in unison. 

Tenshi stared at her alternate self with incredulity. Then - 

"GET THE HELL DOWN FROM THERE AND QUIT IT! THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU!? NO ONE'S _BUYING_ TRUNKS, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S PRETEND!" 

Trunks went from just confused to really not wanting to be on this diving board or in this outfit anymore. 

Future Trunks only just arrived on the scene, and he really wished this wasn't happening. 

"TENSHI, GET DOWN FROM THERE AND GIVE HIM HIS CLOTHES BACK!" he shouted. "WE DON'T OWN SLAVES HERE, NOT EVEN FOR PRETEND!" 

The others turned to stare at Future Trunks. 

AT Tenshi pouted down at both her alternate self and Future Trunks. 

"They're the ones fighting over him! I was just - !" 

"I DON'T CARE, JUST STOP IT!"

"Fine, fine." 

AT Tenshi's grip had been too strong to fight against, but in the two moments it took for AT Tenshi to let go and give Trunks his clothes back, there wasn't enough time between them and the third moment as AT Tenshi lifted her foot, planted it in his back, and send him falling into the pool. He had just enough time to take a deep breath before making a big splash. 

Despite being the one not in any swim wear at all and hadn't been in a swimming pool since she was too young to care if her body matched the perception of her gender identity in human culture, Tenshi pushed off the edge of the pool and swam over to Trunks to make sure he was okay. He came up for air and exhaled rather forcefully. 

"That was _not_ on my to-do list today!" Trunks said exasperatedly. 

By this point, Piccolo, Gohan, Goku, Chichi, Dominion, Bulma, Bra, Dr. Briefs, and Mrs. Briefs had joined them in the pool area, staring speechlessly. Future Trunks was dragging AT Tenshi back into the house, words being exchanged between them that sounded like Future Trunks had been fully aware AT Tenshi didn't see anything wrong with grabbing someone and pretending to strip them of their rights as a person. 

"How many times do we have to have this conversation!? You can't just - !" 

"It wasn't for real!" 

" _I know it wasn't but_ \- !" 

"I thought if this timeline's me could prove she wanted him more then - !" 

" _How could you think this was a good idea at all!?_ " 

"I - "

"Never mind, I know the answer to that." 

"Well, _excuse me_ for my home life, then." 

"I - I _know_ it's not your fault and that you didn't know better until just a while ago but - !" 

Their conversation faded from hearing range as they got deeper into the house, though Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion could still hear it. 

Piccolo was feeling sick to his stomach between the music speakers' volume and hearing about how slavery was the norm in AT Tenshi's timeline because of Demon King Piccolo. Despite having once been that person, he had the hardest time seeing himself doing such a thing. It was deplorable. 

Tenshi blocked out their conversation as she and Trunks got out of the pool, Trunks's and Tenshi's clothes now dripping wet. 

"I'm _so_ sorry, I had no idea she was gonna do that!" Tenshi immediately blurted out, feeling partially responsible. It was her who did it, but not her, and time travel was confusing and how could anyone have thought that was okay, and what if this ruined everything she had with him, what was left of their friendship and - !? 

"It's, uh, um. Well, I'm glad you stood up for me at least," Trunks said, managing to smile a little bit in a nervous, relieved way that felt like such a strange emotion to feel because he felt it so rarely. It felt like he had somehow managed to dodge a giant energy blast that would've killed him or something. Being told it was a game of "pretend" didn't make the relief that he hadn't been "sold" any less than what it was. 

"Of course I did, what she just pulled was ridiculous!" 

Trunks was starting to calm down a little, so while Tenshi continued to be furious on his behalf and the others were continuing to stare around the area, unsure what just happened and having trouble comprehending the event, Trunks was cluing in on something AT Tenshi had said. 

"Hey, uh," Trunks said, which put a stop to Tenshi's apologetic, angry, embarrassed ramblings. "What she said about . . . you wanting me? What'd she mean?" 

Tenshi was turning a bright purple color in the face. 

"N-not as a slave, that was definitely not it!" Tenshi said very quickly. 

"Nah, I figured, but, uh...." 

Trunks was starting to blush too, and he was barely noticing just how cold it was starting to feel outside of the pool. 

"What about . . . romantically?" Trunks asked. 

Tenshi's blush was migrating to her ears as well as her cheeks. 

Her sensitive hearing picked up that Vegeta had left the Gravity Room. 

"Yourdad'soutoftheGRsohe'sprobablyhungry!Someoneshouldfixhimsomething!I'llgodothat!" Tenshi said, then ran, wet clothes flopping and making squelching sounds as she ran in the direction of the GR, not the kitchen. 

Trunks stared after her, and he then looked over at Goten. Goten was looking at him, exasperated. 

"You get kidnapped and drug to the diving board to be sold as property, and getting in my niece's pants is _still_ all you can think about?" 

Trunks rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. 

Chrome and Fox were tweeting the events on their Twitter accounts, and Chrome nudged Kurisutaru. 

"This is the most exciting pool party ever, can he and his friends be invited to the birthday bash?" Chrome asked. 

Kurisutaru smacked her with the skirt she had been wearing but had pulled off so she could get into the pool. 

Vegeta had no idea why Tenshi almost threw herself at him, but she was purple in the face, all wet, and he could see the same over-emotional breakdown that Bulma would get regardless of the emotion it was. She tried to communicate what she wanted from him, but instead he just put a hand on her shoulder and asked if she wanted to spar. 

She took him up on that.


	51. Mess Is Mine by Vance Joy (Tenshi, Goten, Future Trunks, Gohan)

By the time that Tenshi and Vegeta finished their sparring, Trunks had changed out of his wet clothes, but opted out of swimming for now. Bra had jumped into the pool, and Rubi, Fox, Chrome, and Kurisutaru were swimming with her while Mrs. Briefs and Dr. Briefs watched them. Fox and Chrome were managing to have rather significant conversations with Dr. Briefs as they swam about high-tech computers and robotics and engineering. Rubi was far more interested in playing with the beach ball with Bra, and Kurisutaru was just floating on her back, staring up at the sky, thinking about the exchange between Trunks and Tenshi. 

So he had never really been interested in her after all.... 

Meanwhile, Trunks, Goten, and most of the others were in the kitchen. Future Trunks and AT Tenshi were sitting quietly and awkwardly at the table, not making eye contact with anybody. AT Tenshi had a bowl of chicken broth - just the broth - in front of her, which Future Trunks had rummaged around the kitchen to make for her. She drank it straight out of the bowl with no spoon, picking it up and bringing it to her lips to drink. 

The silence was awkward, and no one really wanted to breach the conversation. Really the only ones who weren't sitting awkwardly were Trunks and Goten, but they were focusing on something different entirely. 

"So when she comes back, should I let her bring it up or - ?" Trunks asked. 

"Definitely, otherwise she's just gonna run off again. It's good enough that you know that she actually does like you now. She would've just said no otherwise." Goten said, digging around in the mug he had with his spoon for the ice cream that was at the bottom. 

"Right." Trunks was doing the same with his mug. 

Gohan made a little grunting noise, and Trunks hunched his shoulders up. 

Bulma put her hand on her hip. "I'm really surprised at you, Trunks. I never would've thought you'd string along another girl just 'cause you were jealous the one you wanted to get with was getting attention from other boys." 

Trunks avoided making eye contact with his mother. 

". . . _What_ other attention?" Gohan asked, his arms crossed. 

Trunks and Goten both froze. Oh. Right. Gohan and Piccolo didn't know.... 

They both tried to signal to Bulma to shut up behind Gohan's back, but they failed to keep their movements from Piccolo. 

"What do you two know that we don't?" Piccolo asked, voice firm. 

Gohan whipped his head around to look at the two boys, and Trunks and Goten cringed. Busted.... 

"Well, Tenshi, she, ah," Goten started, looking around as though to find an exit. 

"She, um," Trunks tried, partly doing what Goten was doing but also not really wanting to think about the boys Tenshi had made out with. 

Tenshi and Vegeta entered the kitchen area at that moment, both sweaty and Tenshi having switched out her nasal cannula for her face mask. 

"Tenshi, what are they talking about when they say you've been getting attention from boys?" Gohan asked immediately upon seeing his daughter. 

Vegeta looked from Gohan to Tenshi. Tenshi's shoulders immediately sagged and they could hear her groan through the face mask. Vegeta thought about it for a moment, then stepped in. 

"The girl is popular with the men on this planet and occasionally takes them up on offers. And while we're on the subject," Vegeta touched Tenshi's shoulder and turned her more towards him. He lifted a finger towards her face, as though she was his own daughter or student. "You may be half-Namekian, but you are still a fourth Saiyan. While I understand that interacting with human potential mates is a different animal entirely, if someone with Saiyan blood in them wants to be your mate, they have to earn it, complete with challenging your other suitors and proving they are the strongest warrior. And by challenge, I don't mean strutting over and punching them in the face, I mean _proper_ formal challenges, with vocal exchange and agreement about the terms and conditions of the battle. Spoiled brats who get jealous and ignore the proper mating rituals don't deserve shit from you, understand?" 

Tenshi stared at Vegeta, eyes wide and clearly surprised for this conversation to be happening. Trunks hunched his shoulders more and pouted, but stayed quiet during the exchange. He knew how much the courting rituals were important to Vegeta. It was also a way of Vegeta punishing Trunks for going against said rituals before he knew Tenshi really did like him back and probably for not listening to him. 

Slowly, Tenshi nodded, then pulled the face mask off. 

"I understand...." Though her voice told Vegeta she wasn't sure why he was telling her this. She put the face mask back on so she could breathe between speaking intervals. 

AT Tenshi leaned forward over the table, watching the exchange. 

"So what's his deal?" she asked quietly. 

Future Trunks looked over at her. 

"You remember Father from our time patrol work." 

"Well, yeah, but what's he talking about?" 

"Uh...." 

Future Trunks blushed a little, then shrugged. Vegeta sighed, then walked over to Future Trunks and AT Tenshi. 

"In this timeline, I may be alive and living on Earth, but I'll be damned before I let my children be hedonistic brats who think they can just walk up to any potential mate and be crass enough to not put forth the effort of courting and attempting to reap the benefits." 

Bulma gave a bit of a strained smile. "Vegeta, I wouldn't say that's entirely accurate." 

Vegeta gave Bulma a look that told her he was very much not convinced. 

"I mean, it wasn't like you challenged Yamcha or anything like that." 

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "You said you weren't attached to anyone." 

"Well, I wasn't, but he and I had been - " 

"I'm more than willing to _rectify_ that if there's been a misunderstanding, but _you_ said - " 

And the two got on a tangent that wasn't any of Gohan's concern. He didn't care about ancient Saiyan courting rituals. 

" _What do they mean, Tenshi?_ " Gohan asked. 

Tenshi sighed, then pulled the mask off again. 

"I've been making out with random boys until recently...." She put the mask back on. 

The reaction was expected and stopped Bulma and Vegeta's sort-of argument. 

" _What!?_ " Gohan and Piccolo both responded. Both of them were starting to panic. 

"Why would you do that!?" 

"After how many times we told you that if you ever swapped DNA with someone else you'd - !"

"She's been using birth control," Goten said. 

" _What_ birth control!?" Gohan asked. 

Tenshi was a bright purple in the face. "The birth control from our trip to New Namek...." 

Piccolo and Gohan stopped shouting, but they were staring at her with wide eyes and confused looks. 

"We have birth control?" Piccolo asked. 

A vein in Gohan's forehead twitched. 

"You've had birth control for Namekians all this time _and you didn't give any to your mother_?" he said. 

Tenshi stared at them for a moment or two. 

"Huh?" 

Gohan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, just underneath the rim of his glasses. When he took his hand away, his eyes were closed and he put his hands on his hips. 

"Sweetheart, while I do not like the fact that I'm only just now hearing about you having a _sex life_ . . . you aren't in trouble _if_ you give some to your mother." 

Tenshi blinked, then tilted her head. 

"How come?" she asked. 

The vein twitched more. 

"Because despite being the father of two children, Daddy hasn't ever had a proper make-out session and is twenty-seven years old, _that's why_." 

Awkward pause. Then, "Oh. Okay. It's at home, so I can give it to you when we get back." 

"Good." 

"We, uh, we will need a refill of it soon, though...." 

"We'll handle that later," Gohan said, moving over to the coffee maker. Piccolo was a light purple in the face. 

AT Tenshi watched the exchange with fascination. She watched Gohan, transfixed, for a good while. Gohan didn't notice at first, but by the time that the coffee was ready to be drunk, he looked over at her. He frowned. 

AT Tenshi went ahead and answered the unasked question. 

"You're a lot different from my daddy...." she admitted. "You dress different and act different. If it wasn't for the hair and face, I wouldn't have known it was you." 

She drank more of the chicken broth in her bowl. 

Gohan furrowed his eyebrows, not sure how he felt about that. 

The others were watching them, curious and on guard for what AT Tenshi might say. Future Trunks drank the tea he had in front of him, choosing to stay out of this conversation. 

"What was he like?" Gohan asked slowly, not really wanting to know the answer. 

AT Tenshi looked Gohan up and down, her eyes mostly landing around in the chest area. Gohan had no idea what she was thinking or what might've been in that area in her timeline. 

"He was no less dedicated and protective of me...." AT Tenshi said. "And of Pan." 

"Pan's in your universe?" Dominion asked. 

AT Tenshi nodded. "She was my half-sister." 

Gohan paused in what he was doing when she said that. The memory of kissing Videl came back to him, after all these years. 

Future Trunks put his tea down as AT Tenshi continued. 

"She and I trained for war together, even though we were never part of one until the end.... Daddy and Videl fought alongside each other until Daddy decided to focus on his other duties. He had permission to do a lot of stuff, but later in life his time and attention was getting spread thin...." 

The phrase "had permission" stuck in everyone's heads, and it was giving them that skin-crawling feeling you get when you can put the pieces together about a reality you don't want to acknowledge. 

AT Tenshi adjusted the diadem wrapped around her head. 

"He was just naturally more home-maker-y and kind of door-matty when it came to me and Father is all.... While you aren't door-matty at all." 

Gohan took the coffee into his hand and sipped from it. 

"That outfit you put Trunks in. It's slave garb in your timeline?" Gohan asked. 

"Yeah...." 

Future Trunks frowned, and Piccolo pointedly looked as far away from anyone else as possible. The others went back to awkwardly avoiding looking at AT Tenshi, but they were definitely listening. 

Gohan turned his body more towards her, so they could look at each other while they talked. 

"Did your dad wear it?" 

AT Tenshi took a while to answer. 

"A variation of it, yeah. Some stuff was fancier 'cause he was Father's, like the bangles and the choker. Some stuff was for fighters and others was for . . . y'know, for sex stuff...." 

Future Trunks put his hand on her shoulder, and she fell quiet at the touch. 

"And Videl and Pan?" Gohan asked. 

"Fighters," AT Tenshi said. 

"But still . . . ?" 

". . . Yeah. . . ." 

". . . You and Pan would've been about the same age, like Pan and Dominion in this timeline, right?" Gohan said. AT Tenshi nodded. "So was . . . Pan Piccolo's or . . . ?" 

AT Tenshi lifted her eyes up to meet Gohan's. 

"She was my sister and my friend." 

"And?" 

AT Tenshi's grip on the bowl tightened. 

"Hey, other me," AT Tenshi said instead. "Question about your diet. Do you drink animal broth?" 

Tenshi, surprised to be addressed right now and for such a random question, answered a bit slower than normal. "No." 

"You should start. The non-Namekian parts of you needs protein, and lack of protein is _definitely_ hindering you. You shouldn't even bother to attempt the fusion technique again until you've increased your protein intake." 

AT Tenshi then stood up, put her bowl in the sink, then walked out. 

Future Trunks stood up and moved to follow her. But he didn't leave right away. 

"I understand no one likes . . . the implications and reality of her timeline. But you have to understand that she lived there for most of her 18 years of life there and has only known of different for a few months. She watched all her loved ones die, including Pan, in very brutal ways. She . . . she may view those of us who don't look like her as inferior, but that doesn't mean . . . that doesn't mean she didn't love them or care about them and that it doesn't hurt. I don't like it any more than you do, but let me handle it, okay? She doesn't need to be . . . interrogated by everyone when she's just as much a product of her environment as anybody else." 

Gohan lifted his hands up in surrender. 

"Got it. Let you handle it. Right." 

Bulma put her hand on her hip and looked at Future Trunks with a frown. 

"That's what you meant by being attracted to her is complicated. Isn't it?" 

Future Trunks blushed rather heavily, but he nodded. 

Bulma walked over to him and hugged him. 

"My poor baby...." 

It felt so weird for Trunks to hear his mother call someone else other than him or Bra that, but he didn't feel as jealous of it as he thought he would be. 

Future Trunks then went to follow AT Tenshi and keep her company and out of trouble. 

Goku started searching the kitchen. "Where'd that broth stuff come from again . . . ?" Might as well get Tenshi started on her new diet. 

". . . Does it have to be animal juice?" Tenshi asked softly with a bit of a disgusted look on her face.


	52. Tik Tok by Ke$ha (Trunks)

Kurisutaru, Rubi, Fox, and Chrome left later that evening. Eventually Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi had rejoined them at the pool, but Tenshi still stayed out of the water while Trunks and Goten swam. AT Tenshi and Future Trunks stayed inside the house for the majority of the rest of the day, though at some point Tenshi could hear the GR getting revved up again. Since Vegeta eventually came out to watch them swim while the GR was still on, she assumed it was AT Tenshi and Future Trunks. 

Trunks went with the four ladies to the front gate. Kurisutaru had a serious look on her face, and Trunks was starting to feel a little guilty. 

"I presume we won't be having any more get-togethers from this point on," Kurisutaru said. 

Before Trunks could open his mouth, Fox and Chrome spoke up. "Certainly not with you two dating, but we see no reason not to invite him still. He's fun." 

The fact that they said that in unison was a little creepy. 

"And we definitely have to invite his friends," Fox said. 

"Affirmative," Chrome agreed, smiling a little. 

Kurisutaru sighed. 

"Suit yourselves, but I'm not doing it. As far as I'm concerned," she gave Trunks a pointed look, "you're no different from your barbaric father and I shouldn't have even given you the time of day." 

She was angry and had every right to be. But her sense of self-worth seemed to still be intact, so Trunks had no problems with accepting the verbal insults. 

Kurisutaru turned and walked to the car, but Chrome and Fox stuck around for just a minute. 

"Video game tournament. Month from now, Saturday," Chrome said, still smiling. 

"You and your friends, be there, enter," Fox added. 

"And we'll have some fun," they said together, then they walked to the car. 

Rubi gave a little bow. 

"Thank you for inviting me! It was fun!" 

She then ran to catch up with her sister and the twins. 

Trunks waved them goodbye and watched them leave, then headed back to the house. 

Goku and Tenshi had argued quite a bit over whether or not Tenshi should drink animal broth, but then Bulma stepped in and suggested Tenshi drink protein shakes. Bulma had some flavors for Tenshi to try, and once they determined which ones she liked, Bulma _and_ Vegeta left to go buy them. Vegeta willingly offering to go get them was a surprise to everybody. 

"What? I can't be invested in her training? She's still a _Saiyan_." was the explanation he gave. Goku grinned at it and Gohan just groaned in dismay. 

When night came, the Sons went back home, and the Briefs were left to clean up the remaining mess from the party. AT Tenshi and Future Trunks were still sticking together out of sight. 

Bulma put Bra to bed, and Trunks went to his bedroom (to listen to his music too loud and think about Tenshi, no doubt). Bulma then poured herself a glass of wine and went into the living room. Vegeta leaned against the wall with a water bottle and drank from that. Bulma sipped her wine. 

"So you knew about Trunks liking Tenshi?" Bulma asked. 

Vegeta nodded. 

"Weren't you going to say something?" 

"Not really. Everyone would've known eventually." 

Bulma frowned. 

"I feel like I don't know him as well as I thought I did.... While I didn't really like her, what Trunks did to Kurisutaru wasn't very nice." 

Vegeta shook his head. "No. No it wasn't." 

"And while I personally have no objections to Tenshi making out with random boys, it doesn't really advertise her ability to commit in a good light." 

"Oh, but darling, you had plenty of boyfriends and crushes growing up, and that hasn't reflected negatively on you!" Mrs. Briefs said, making a surprise appearance in the conversation. 

"Mom!" 

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. He didn't really care either way, she had been single with no suitors when they had started getting involved. But aside from Yamcha, this was news to him. 

"I wasn't involved with most of them! And making out is sex for Namekians, that's a big difference!" Bulma said. 

"Is it?" Mrs. Briefs asked in that way that made it clear she wasn't meaning anything by the question. 

Bulma huffed. 

"What's your point?" Vegeta asked, wanting to get back on topic. "You don't think Tenshi is a good match for Trunks?" 

Bulma flushed a little. "I'm not saying that, really.... She's a good girl, but I don't really think it's gonna work out if they do get together. And what if that makes their friendship too awkward and they stop being friends?" 

"Then that's a risk they'll have to decide they're willing to take. The boy loves her." 

Bulma's eyes widened a bit. "Love?" 

Vegeta nodded. "He's known her forever and watched her almost die once. He obsesses over her and makes decisions based on what she does and thinks. You've noticed that, haven't you?" 

Bulma hesitated, but her brain was able to bring up plenty of examples. Despite his interest in fighting declining rather significantly over the years, he still trained harder than Goten because both Vegeta wanted him to train and Tenshi was still training. Bulma could recall times when they were going to the movies with the Sons and Trunks would have been set on one movie, then when Tenshi made it very clear she wanted a different one, Trunks did a 180. Goten and Tenshi often liked the same things, so it wasn't all that noticeable back when they were thirteen, fourteen. But now, with this information . . . it was obvious. Trunks refrained from eating meat in front of Tenshi ever since he had torn into a rare steak one time and blood oozed out of it and Tenshi's reaction had been a very loud "ewwwww!" 

Bulma's eyes widened more as she realized that Vegeta was right, and she felt . . . scared. 

"But he's just sixteen, he's much too young to be in _love_!" 

Vegeta shrugged. 

"How old were you when you felt love for someone outside your family?" he asked. 

Bulma hesitated. 

"I . . . I knew I was in love at nineteen, but maybe earlier...." 

Vegeta knew she was talking about Yamcha, but he didn't feel threatened. There was no reason to feel threatened. 

"Sixteen isn't too far from nineteen." 

Bulma pouted. "Well, how old were you when _you_ first fell in love?" 

"Thirty-four." Vegeta said with no hesitation. 

Bulma was speechless. That was when they had met, give or take a few months. There was silence in the living room for a while. 

"Are you against Trunks and Tenshi being together?" Vegeta asked after a while. 

Bulma fidgeted. 

"I dunno.... It just . . . feels different from when he was courting Kurisutaru." 

"Because his heart wasn't in it?" 

Bulma didn't say anything for a moment. 

"Because there was no real threat to him?" Vegeta continued to prod. 

". . . Yeah. . . . I guess so. And . . . in a way, she's already hurt him. . . ." 

"It's nothing he can't handle and nothing he's not willing to put up with, or else he'd have moved on already. Trunks will be fine." Vegeta said. 

Bulma didn't look convinced, and Vegeta didn't have anything else to attempt to comfort her with. So he didn't try further than that. 

"What about the other one?" Vegeta asked. "Are you worried about him?" 

"Future Trunks? Yeah, I am worried about that, too, but he understands his situation better than I do, and I trust him to be able to look after himself. Though I wish he didn't have to be caught up in something so complicated. Who'd have thought, though, huh? There's a timeline when Piccolo followed after his father's footsteps, took over the world, and set up a new slave trade. It's ridiculous!" 

"She can't be too terrible, I don't think. Or else he'd never have fused with her," Vegeta said. "That boy's moral compass is too strong for that kind of compromise." 

"And fusion probably shows him parts of her that we haven't seen. Might never see, really. So he'd know her better than anybody," Bulma added. 

"I'm willing to give the girl a chance. Both of them," Vegeta said. "One is just a child and will make mistakes, and the other may have a lot of learning to do, but if that Trunks has faith in her, then I will too." 

Bulma smiled softly. "Like I've had faith in you?" 

Vegeta harrumphed, then looked away from her. Bulma sipped more of her wine. 

When Vegeta finished his water, he filled it back up, then put it in the refrigerator. He walked in the direction of his and Bulma's room, then made a slight detour to check in on Future Trunks and AT Tenshi. 

Despite the fact that Namekians didn't sleep, AT Tenshi was curled around Future Trunks on the bed, her arms wrapped around the boy as he slept. They might not have been an actual couple yet, but they were apparently close enough for spooning. 

Vegeta didn't watch over them for long. Just enough to see what they were doing, then he continued to his and Bulma's room. 

Bulma checked in on Trunks before heading to bed. As expected, he was listening to his hip hop and pop on his iPod, headphones over his ears. He moved one speaker when he saw her. 

"Hey, Mom." 

"Just checking on you. You doing all right?" 

"Yeah." 

"All right. If you need anything, let me know." 

Bulma then left and headed for bed. 

Trunks continued to stare up at the ceiling, thinking of the way Tenshi had blushed and retreated when he asked her if she liked him romantically and how she had been too embarrassed to look straight at him for the rest of the day. 

He couldn't remember when he first fell in love with her. He just knew he had started feeling jealous at fourteen, because that's when other boys started noticing her and he had hated it. 

But now he had a legit chance at being with her, and he was a little scared of fucking it up, but he was mostly excited. He had to remind himself to be patient. She was going through a lot right now. 

Regardless of AT Tenshi's issues, the fact that she and Future Trunks were so close gave him confidence that it was going to work out.


	53. Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers (Tenshi, Gohan, Chichi)

AT Tenshi naturally was the first one to be awake that morning in the Briefs house, since Namekians didn't actually sleep. She let the others sleep as she explored around the house. 

She pushed open yet another door on her exploring route, then her mouth fell open into a small 'o'. 

"This is . . . ." 

Then she grinned and looked around to see how this worked. 

"Dr. Briefs definitely didn't have this in my timeline. Or if she did, she kept it a secret." 

AT Tenshi giggled. 

"This is so cool, I'll have to see if we can get a personal sauna set up in TokiToki...." 

She turned the nob to get the sauna heated, then discarded her clothes and grabbing a towel. 

Meanwhile, at the Son residence, Tenshi remembered what she had promised Gohan and handed over what was left of her birth control flower petals. 

Piccolo took the ziplock bag she was keeping them in and raised an eyebrow at it. 

"How do they work?" 

Tenshi explained how she used her tongue to place it over the vaginal opening and how the sticky honey-like substance the petals secreted kept it in place. 

Goten had already heard this, so he wasn't the least bit embarrassed, but Dominion buried his face into his book on motorcycles and was blushing furiously. Chichi pointedly pretended she couldn't hear them. Gohan was looking like a bit of stress had been lifted, and Piccolo was a bright purple in the face. 

Goku was starting to get bored, despite they had just woken up. His leg was bouncing a little bit, and it was making the house shake just slightly. 

Tenshi grabbed one of her new protein shakes from the refrigerator. 

"What's wrong, Grandpa?" Tenshi said, already knowing what the answer was. 

Goku was pouting. "I really want to get back to your training." 

"Well, I've gotta drink something first, so you'll just have to wait. If you want, you can get started on stretches and stuff. I already did my morning warm-up and meditated all night." 

Goku didn't need to be told twice. He was out of there before you could say "fight." 

Gohan frowned heavily, the slight improvement in his mood from yesterday gone. 

"Why is that all he ever thinks about?" Chichi asked out loud. 

Tenshi shrugged, keeping it to herself that she could relate. She just couldn't push herself like he could. If she could . . . she saw no reason why she wouldn't be more like him. 

But she thought about how it hurt Goten, Daddy, and Grandma, and then she felt guilty for thinking that way. 

The phone rang, and Gohan answered it. Piccolo brought his hand to his forehead, rubbing his temple. All the noises the technology made really gave him a headache. Chichi, without looking at him, fished out the pain meds and tossed the bottle to him. He caught it without looking, then popped the top open and reached for his glass of water. 

"Hey, Videl. Actually, we're going to the Briefs today. You're more than welcome to meet us there. Yeah, of course. Oh.... We can talk about it when we see you. The kids can keep Pan busy, and maybe Bulma has an opening.... Yeah. All right. We'll see you there. Bye." 

Gohan hung up, then moved around in the kitchen to help Chichi with breakfast. 

Tenshi and Goten furrowed their eyebrows. 

"What was that?" Goten asked. 

"Videl and Pan are meeting us at the Briefs." 

Dominion perked up, his blush fading and a smile on his face. Tenshi and Goten, however, knew what "maybe Bulma has an opening" meant. Tenshi opened her mouth to speak, but then Goten grabbed her shoulder. They exchanged looks, then Tenshi's shoulders sagged and she nodded. 

They couldn't bring that up in front of Dominion. It would just stress the little worrywort out. 

But Videl losing her job didn't sound good at all. 

Hercule and Videl had money still, overall, but it wasn't anything like what it had been when Gohan and Videl had first met. Ever since Mr. Satan had been revealed to be a fraud and was caught up in Gohan basically kidnapping Tenshi that one time, their ability to keep work and money hadn't been the same. Videl was a hard-worker and intelligent and a team player, but sometimes people looked at who her father was or the fact that she was single with a kid and . . . people just weren't very nice. 

When they were ready, they got Goku to instant-transmission them to the Briefs' place.

Mrs. Briefs was working on breakfast for the family, and Vegeta had already gone into the GR for morning training. Trunks was having trouble sitting still. He was bouncing his foot, making the house shake a little, until Bulma put her hand on his knee and made him stop. 

Future Trunks was the last one to make an appearance, having a little bit of bed head and taking a comb he carried on him in an inside pocket of his coat to it to try to get it to lay flat. 

"Did Tenshi go into the GR with Father?" Future Trunks asked. 

Bulma shrugged. "I haven't seen her." 

"Oh...."

Future Trunks was frowning. 

Dr. Briefs looked up from the paper. 

"Well, someone's in the sauna, from what I saw. If it's none of us, it must be her." 

"You have an indoor sauna?" Future Trunks asked, surprised. 

"But of course!" Dr. Briefs said. They didn't get to continue the conversation very much before the Sons appeared before them. 

"Hey!" Goku greeted. Tenshi let go of Goku's gi. 

She was a light purple color in the face when she saw Trunks. 

"Hey," she said. She was wearing a gi once again today, though she had a pink decorative band around her head today. 

"Hey," Trunks said back, his heart fluttering in his chest. 

Vegeta must've sensed Goku's ki, because he arrived in the kitchen soon after they arrived, sweat dripping from his forehead and down his arms. 

AT Tenshi also decided _now_ was a good time to show up. 

"Trunks! Yo! Where are you?" 

"In here," Future Trunks said, sighing in relief. Good, if they were together there wasn't much she could do to do something that would make things - 

She walked into the doorway, and Future Trunks immediately launched himself in front of her, in a valiant effort to shield her nudity from the rest of the group. 

"What're you doing!?" 

"Dude, did you know there was a - ?" 

" _Why aren't you wearing anything!?_ " 

"Because I'm going right back, duh, I just wanted to see if you wanted - " 

" _At least wrap a towel around you!_ " 

She rolled her eyes and pulled the towel off from around her shoulders and tied it around her waist. Future Trunks relaxed significantly, easing himself into a chair, then running his fingers through his hair. 

Vegeta had leaned around the table and Future Trunks to see what was going on exactly, and he raised an eyebrow before straightening himself up. He looked his son from the future up and down as he spoke. 

"Please don't ever do that again, especially in Tokitoki." 

"You're no fun sometimes," AT Tenshi said, then she smiled. "Which is _why_ you should join me in the sauna!" 

"I don't think so." 

"Awww, c'mon! It'll help you get on the same loosened-up state I'm in! It'll make it easier to show them what our fusion looks like when they're ready!" 

She was getting into his personal space and being a general annoyance. But Future Trunks was blushing heavily, and her full-frontal nudity was burned into his retinas. 

Vegeta and Bulma just got more coffee and offered it to the others. Tenshi, Trunks and Goten just stared at Future Trunks and AT Tenshi's exchange. 

Gohan decided this wasn't his problem and went to the front gate to let Videl and Pan in. It wouldn't be too long before they were there. Dominion went with. 

AT Tenshi was poking Future Trunks in the arm, knowing that it was irritating to him and also knowing that if she bugged him enough, he'd cave. Probably. 

"It'll be fun, c'mon...!" 

". . . Oh all right." 

"Yes!" 

AT Tenshi pumped her fist into the air, then grabbed Future Trunks's arm and pulled him towards the sauna. 

"But only if you keep your towel on!" he added quickly. 

AT Tenshi giggled. "But I thought you liked it~!" 

Future Trunks blushed heavily. "W-what gave you that idea!?" 

She just laughed and kept pulling him along. 

Vegeta, now with his cup of coffee, pulled up Dr. Briefs's laptop and tapped a few of the buttons, pulling up Amazon and typing in what he figured Future Trunks (and probably Trunks) was going to need. 

After the two time travelers left, Tenshi, Trunks, and Goten were left in awkward silence. 

Goku was pouting. 

"So I have to wait even longer to get this training on the road?" he asked aloud. 

"Get over it, Kakarott," Vegeta said. "There's plenty of time in the day." 

Goku pouted, then went over to Vegeta to see what he was doing. He raised an eyebrow. 

"What're those for?" 

"The boys." 

". . . Which boys?" 

" _Mine._ "

"Huh.... What do they do?" 

Vegeta just put his hand against Kakarott's face and pushed him away from the computer. 

"Tenshi," Vegeta said. 

"Yes, sir?" Tenshi asked. She had always had respect for Vegeta, though she never went out of her way to pull out the royalty title he had. 

"You and the other one aren't different physically, are you? Outside of the fact that you need to replenish protein? Everything else is . . . functioning the same way and the same size?" 

"As far as I can tell, yeah. We're the same height and stuff...." 

"Good." 

Vegeta did a bit more typing on the laptop, clicked a few things, then closed the laptop. 

". . . Why'd you ask?" Tenshi said, raising an eyebrow. 

Vegeta just grunted in response. Then he fetched her another protein shake from the refrigerator and tossed it to her. 

"You three, me, and Kakarott. Outside. Training until the other two get done. Now." 

Vegeta then headed back outside. Goku smirked. 

"Yes!" Goku said, hurrying after Vegeta. Tenshi, Trunks, and Goten followed at their own pace, Tenshi opening the protein shake and drinking it. 

At the front gate, Gohan let Videl into the Capsule Corp compound. Pan and Dominion embraced each other, then quickly ran to the house. Videl hugged Gohan, and Gohan hugged her back, and they stayed like that for a while. Videl's body was shaking, and Gohan thought she was starting to cry. 

"I don't know what I'm going to do...." she said. Gohan rubbed her back. 

"We'll figure something out together, okay? You're not alone in this. I promise." 

Videl nodded. "I know.... It just feels that way sometimes...." 

Gohan frowned. He knew there was only so much he could do for her. But they could talk to Bulma about employment, and that would help.... Hopefully.... 

In the sauna, Future Trunks really couldn't help but stare at AT Tenshi as she relaxed in the heat, head tilted back and body stretched out. She did as asked and kept the towel around her waist, but the towel wasn't long enough for the way she was sitting. He was torn between being uncomfortable and embarrassed and . . . . 

He blushed heavily and hoped that he'd be able to block out these thoughts when they demonstrated their fusion form for Trunks and Tenshi.


	54. Just Dance by Lady Gaga (Trunks, Bulma)

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi finally left the sauna, dried off and back in their clothes. Future Trunks was still blushing (which seemed to be a permanent state when he was around AT Tenshi, if he was going to be completely honest with himself). They walked past the kitchen, since they knew Tenshi, Trunks, Goten, Vegeta, and Goku were at the Gravity Room, so they didn't see Videl, Gohan, and Bulma having a serious conversation about Videl's employment options. 

Bulma was frowning. "Unfortunately, you don't have the qualifications for a higher paying scientist or engineering job, but we do have security guard openings available. And there's babysitting Bra, if you're up for that." 

Videl nodded. "Thank you so much, Bulma." 

Bulma smiled at her. "It's the least I can do. I'll go get the paperwork and you can start work next week." 

"Sounds great." 

Videl bowed a little bit in gratitude, and Bulma got the paperwork. Gohan was glad they could give Videl something to pay the bills until she could find something better. 

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi passed the living room as well, where Pan and Dominion had taken refuge with Bra. 

Dominion was frowning a bit as Pan went on and on about this teenager she had met while at her dad's place last time she was there. Dominion knew what the signs of having a crush was, and he could tell that she was crushing pretty hard on this teenager he had never met. Though from the sounds of it, said teenager was far more interested in teenager things, like skateboards and high school girls. Which was good, but it didn't really fix the problem. 

Bra, however, liked hearing about it. 

"Is he dreamy like a storybook prince?" Bra asked. 

"Yeah, he's got those handsome eyes and dark hair and pale skin and a really cool jacket and - !" 

Dominion's eyes dropped to Pan's skin on her arm, then looked over at Bra's, then at his own. Pan was a whitish color, like her mother, though her father was brown-ish, as was Mr. Satan. Bra was a light pink like Bulma and Trunks, though Vegeta had always been tan from Dominion's recollection, though he had grown lighter over the years according to older pictures. Probably due to spending so much time in a building with artificial light, like the Gravity Room. 

Dominion, though, was green. Like plants and frogs and snakes. Green with spots of pink, but not the kind of pink that Oolong the pig or Bra or Bulma were. More like flower-petal pink. 

He knew Namekians were genetically far more like humanoid slugs than anything like plants, frogs, and snakes, but that didn't change the fact that . . . evolutionarily speaking . . . he didn't exactly look like a potential mate for a human girl. 

He pouted as he thought about this to himself, but then his thoughts went to Mommy and his sister. Mommy and Daddy were married and had two children together and loved each other very much. And Daddy was half-human, half-Saiyan. He could've chosen to go out with any of the humans here on Earth, but instead he picked Mommy, a Namekian. So that meant that being green wasn't necessarily a downside. And then Tenshi, she had gotten with some human dudes. And Trunks really liked her.... So maybe he had nothing to worry about and was being too sensitive. 

He hoped that was the case. 

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi reached the group they were looking for. 

It was a free-for-all between Goten, Trunks, Goku, and Vegeta, while Tenshi sat on the ground, watching. She had switched out her nasal cannula with her face mask and was sweating, so it was clear she had been fighting but needed to take a break. The four Saiyans were a blur of color, though Future Trunks, AT Tenshi, and Tenshi could still follow them. 

Future Trunks frowned. 

"Goten and Trunks must not train as often. For their levels of power, they really aren't keeping up as well as they should," he said. 

AT Tenshi nodded. "Yeah, especially compared to you." 

Future Trunks's blush returned. "Well...." he said bashfully. 

AT Tenshi smirked, her fangs showing. "Goku really is something, though. I'd really like to fight him one-on-one sometime." 

Tenshi nodded. "Grandpa's the best when it comes to fighting." 

"It wasn't the Dragon who brought Goku to TokiToki, though, was it?" AT Tenshi said. 

Tenshi looked over at AT Tenshi, but AT Tenshi walked closer to the group. 

"HEY! Who wants to see me and Trunks fuse?" she called up. 

The four of them stopped the moment she said it, but not before Goku could get distracted enough to get clocked in the jaw by Goten. Goten wasn't really sorry about it, but the moment went mostly unnoticed by everyone but Goku. 

The men touched down onto the ground, and Tenshi got up and went to walk to be in between Goku and Goten (Trunks being on Goten's other side and Vegeta on Goku's other). 

AT Tenshi walked back to be beside Future Trunks and smiled at him. 

"Ready, partner?" 

"Ready," Future Trunks said, nodding. 

Both put on serious faces, then got into the first stance of the Fusion Dance. 

"Fu-sion - HA!" 

The light resulting from their fusion was bright, and all of them had to shield their eyes. When the light died down, they looked back at them. Tenshi's eyes widened. 

The body was definitely that of a Namekian, though not as tall as Tenshi had been but still taller than Trunks. The antennae had disappeared and the ears were smaller, and lavender hair was framing their face. It was longer than Trunks's was and pulled back into a loose ponytail, like his hair had been during the Cell Games. The clothes was a deep blue gi with a yellow sash around the waist. The eyes were blue, and there wasn't an air tank to be seen. 

The fusion warrior let out a great sigh and stretched, a popping sound coming from their back as they bent back. 

" _Damn_ that feels good!" It sounded like both AT Tenshi and Future Trunks were speaking at the same time.

They straightened up and grinned at them. 

"What up, Goku? Haven't seen you since Demigra." 

"Hey, Trunshi!" Goku said, lifting his hand to wave at them. 

"Trunshi?" Goten asked. 

"Yup! They/them pronouns, if you don't mind." 

"Noted," Vegeta said.

Trunshi grinned at them, their fangs glinting in the sunlight. 

"So who wants to take this babe for a ride?" 

Both Trunks and Tenshi looked a little scandalized at hearing the phrase, and Goten blanched a little bit. 

"Pardon?" Vegeta said, raising an eyebrow. 

"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!" Goku said. 

The others turned their head to look at Goku, wondering what the heck he meant by that. But then Trunshi launched themself at Goku, and the fight commenced. Realization dawned on the rest of them that it had just been a rather suggestive way of asking who wanted to spar. Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi sighed in relief; inter-dimensional incest was not on their list of things they wanted to experience. Vegeta crossed his arms and watched them fight. 

Tenshi focused on the fight as well, and it soon became very clear to Vegeta and Tenshi that Trunshi and Goku were both on an entirely different level than anything they had ever seen before. Vegeta gritted his teeth as he realized that Goku had been going easy on him the entire time he had been here, and Tenshi's eyes widened with amazement at Trunshi's grace and power. 

Trunks was able to follow a bit easier than Goten, but both of them were having trouble keeping up with their speed and movements. Tenshi could barely follow better than both of them, and she was able to follow just enough to know that the fact that such power was just out of her reach was ridiculous and maddening. 

Her body was starting to shake, and she felt her blood pump with the urge to fight, to train, to - 

To succeed with the fusion technique at any cost. 

She was too enthralled with the display of power and strength and speed and grace before her to feel the least bit guilty at how closely that attitude resembled Goku's and how that very way of thinking had hurt her family deeply. 

To be a fighter was all she ever really wanted. And it was so close and . . . and she could be the best fighter around, if she could just become. . . . 

But that would require fusing with. . . . 

Tenshi dared a glance at Trunks at the risk of missing any of the fight. He was staring at the fight just as intently as she had been - as were Goten and Vegeta - and wasn't going to notice her looking at him. 

He knew she liked him that way. She . . . didn't want to get her hopes up about whether or not he liked her back. He didn't seem opposed to the idea, but he could just be trying to be nice and not ruin their friendship.... 

She knew they were friends, but would he . . . _want_ to fuse with her? With her having a crush on him? 

She could promise to keep the thoughts to herself, put up her mental barriers.... 

But would that be enough? 

Trunks felt the weight of a stare on him and turned his head. Tenshi immediately turned her head to look back at the fight. Trunks watched her, then looked back at Trunshi and Goku fighting. 

Trunshi and Goku jumped apart from each other, Goku panting. Trunshi pulled out an inhaler from an inside pocket on their vest and used it. Then they smirked. 

"Not bad, Goku. Not bad at all." Trunshi said. 

The bright light returned, and AT Tenshi and Future Trunks appeared again. 

AT Tenshi's knees bent, and she wobbled a little bit. Future Trunks grabbed her gently and held her upright as she regained her balance and caught her breath. 

"Ohhhh shit...." 

"It's okay...." Future Trunks said. 

AT Tenshi nodded. "Yeah.... I'm good, just give me a minute." 

Future Trunks smiled at her, then looked over at Goku. 

"You really are amazing, Goku." 

Goku smiled. "So are you two. That's incredible power you're able to give. I'm really impressed. I bet you're even stronger than me!" 

"Heh. You know it," AT Tenshi said, grinning. She sighed rather heavily. "I need more broth...." 

She moved away from Future Trunks, and he let her go, but she barely managed a few steps before she was stumbling again and he had to catch her again. 

"Kai Damn It...." AT Tenshi said, leaning too much into Future Trunks, him supporting most of her weight now. 

"Are you okay?" Goten asked. Tenshi stayed quiet, knowing what happened. 

The fusion must still use up a lot of energy. It keeps her alive, but if they were similar enough, it could be days before AT Tenshi would be able to get up and move and act like she normally did. 

"I'm fine, I'm just . . . disabled as fuck," AT Tenshi said, blushing a little bit. 

"May I carry you . . . ?" Future Trunks asked slowly. 

She sighed. 

"I think you'll have to," AT Tenshi responded. 

Future Trunks picked her up and carried her bridal style back to the house. The others followed behind. 

It was a little amusing to watch Future Trunks carry someone so much taller and bigger than him. 

Tenshi stopped before the doorway, and the others went in before her. Trunks, however, came to a halt and looked behind him to see that she had stopped moving. 

"What's up?" he asked. 

Tenshi fought down her blush. 

"Can I talk to you in private for a minute?" 

Trunks nodded, and he followed her to a place on the property where she felt comfortable talking to him.


	55. When I Grow Up by Garbage (Tenshi)

Tenshi took a deep breath, hoping this didn't go terribly wrong. 

"Do you remember when we were kids? And I was upset Grandpa and your dad agreed that I'd never . . . I'd never amount to what I wanted to be?" Tenshi said. 

Trunks nodded. "Yeah. And I promised that I'd help you, no matter what." 

Tenshi nodded as well. "Right. Well . . . you saw what Trunshi was like. They . . . the other me says I'm capable of that same amount of power that she has, if we can just . . . harness it." 

"Yeah. And you can do that through fusion and through adjusting your diet to include protein." 

They both knew they were re-establishing things they already knew. Trunks was . . . waiting for the rest of it, though he was a little disappointed they were only talking about the fusion technique and fighting when . . . when he really wanted to talk about her and how she felt about him. 

"Well . . . um. Goten doesn't want to fuse, and . . . and I wouldn't feel comfortable fusing with anyone else other than . . . other than you. You're my best friend." 

Tenshi started to blush a little bit, the purple dusting her cheeks. 

"But I . . . I understand if that's an uncomfortable concept, considering...." she continued. 

"Considering what?" Trunks asked. 

"Well, considering . . . that I . . . ." 

She gritted her teeth, silently cursing herself. 

"Considering that we haven't been getting along lately and that I have a stupid, annoying crush on you, I understand if you don't want to fuse with me, but I'm hoping we're good enough friends that that doesn't matter and I promise to keep a mental barrier so you don't get weirded out and - !" 

"Who said I'd get weirded out?" Trunks said. 

"Why wouldn't you be?" Tenshi said, not looking up at Trunks's face anymore, but staring at the ground. "What with you having fun with that other girl...." 

"I told you, she's not my girlfriend. And I'm not having sex with her. Kurisutaru . . . never really was my type, anyway." 

Tenshi looked up. 

"Then why were you with her?" 

Trunks took a deep breath. How could she not know by now? With everything that had happened.... 

"I was being a jerk and was using her to make you jealous." He knew it was an asshole thing to do, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. It was over. 

Tenshi furrowed her eyebrows. 

"To make . . . _me_ jealous?" 

Trunks nodded. 

"I've . . . I've liked you for as long as I can remember. I don't know when it went from wanting to be just your friend to wanting to be . . . ." Trunks blushed too. "I . . . don't know when it changed, but it's been years. I . . . I _love_ you. I hated watching you with other men, I hated knowing other men wanted you.... Dad's known that about me for a while now, and he doesn't let a day go by where he doesn't remind me that it's an ugly thing to feel.... Not that he needs to...." Trunks took a step closer to her. "I want to be with you so badly I don't know what to do with myself." 

Tenshi stared at Trunks, and the immediate emotion was fear. He said the word 'love' so easily, and she - she knew she liked him and that he was her best friend - both he and Goten were - and she did love him, like a friend, and she found him attractive, but the idea of romantic love was still scary to her. And that was a lot to hear. 

She swallowed hard. She also wasn't sure how she felt about the jealousy thing. But it wasn't a main concern of hers right then. 

"So . . . so you'll fuse with me?" Tenshi asked. "When I've got my protein consumption up to task?" 

Trunks nodded. "Of course." 

There was a pause in their conversation, and Tenshi took a breath. 

"Thank you. Um. We should probably get back to the others...." 

"Huh?" 

The disappointment on his face was obvious and it hurt, but she didn't know what else to say. Was she in love with him? She just didn't know how to respond to that. 

But Trunks wasn't going to let the opportunity slip away. 

"What about . . . what about us? Outside of fusing?" 

"I . . . I dunno.... What do you want to do?" Tenshi asked, wanting to be with him but afraid of the intensity he had exposed. 

"Can . . . can we go on a date?" Trunks asked, blushing a little more. 

Tenshi nodded. That sounded . . . good. A starting point. Something small, not . . . not as big as "I love you." 

"A date sounds good," Tenshi said, smiling a little bit. 

Trunks smiled back, and he moved in to hug her. She let him, and she hugged him back without hesitation, though not as firmly as he hugged her. 

The two walked back into the house, and Vegeta was leaning against the wall right next to the doorway. Tenshi continued forward, not noticing Vegeta, but Trunks looked up and saw his father. He froze for a moment, a bit of embarrassment creeping in. 

"How much of that did you hear?" Trunks asked as Tenshi disappeared into the living room to check up on Dominion, Pan, and Bra. 

"Enough," Vegeta said. "You certainly didn't waste any time vomiting your feelings everywhere." 

Trunks pouted.

"Nothing wrong with that," Trunks said. 

Vegeta sighed, but said nothing. He pushed himself off the wall and continued down the hall. 

"Hey! There isn't!" Trunks insisted. Vegeta ignored him. 

 

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi had taken refuge in a back room with the broth and water she needed, and it was unclear when they would re-emerge. Dominion, Pan, and Bra had moved on to playing a game of cards with each other, and Tenshi sat down to join them. The rest of the Sons' visit was mostly spent either training or watching the children. Tenshi didn't talk to anybody about her conversation with Trunks, and Trunks told Goten, and Goten gave him his congratulations. Though knowing Tenshi, he was wanting to hear what she had to say about it, but knew better than to ask about it at the Briefs'. 

Eventually, the Sons went home, and Chichi sighed as she started making dinner once again. She thanked the gods that Namekians didn't eat. 

After dinner, Piccolo and Gohan went to Gohan's room, and Goten, Tenshi, and Dominion took over the living room while Chichi went to her office space. 

"Trunks says you two are going on a date soon?" Goten asked. 

Tenshi nodded. "Yeah." 

"You don't seem overly enthused over it." 

Tenshi frowned a little bit. "He says he's in love with me." 

Goten took a moment to feel out what could be wrong with that. 

"You don't know if you're in love with him," he said. 

Tenshi groaned. "I don't want to screw up our friendship, but I do really, really like him...." 

Goten frowned a little bit. "I can't help you with that...." 

"I _know_ , I know.... Fuck...!" 

Tenshi sunk into the couch and buried her face into the pillow, the nasal cannula pushing into her skin as she did so. 

Dominion watched them as they talked for a while. Then he spoke up, "So is Trunks part of the family now?" 

"No more than he already is," Tenshi and Goten said in unison. Dominion tilted his head to the side. 

Then he changed the subject. 

"What do you do get a girlfriend?" he asked. 

Tenshi lifted herself out of the pillow to look at him. 

"What kind of girlfriend?" 

"A human one," he said. 

Tenshi and Goten looked at each other. 

"Mind if I take this one?" she asked. 

"Go right ahead," Goten said, getting up and heading into the kitchen for a snack. 

Tenshi sat up and patted the spot on the couch next to her. Dominion got up and crawled onto the couch. 

"What you need to know about humans is that they're not really going to like you at all. You look like a freak to them, and you're lucky in that you identify as a boy and look like one to them." 

Dominion felt hurt by the statement, but she said it so casually and so tiredly that he knew that she wasn't saying it just to be hurtful. And she was his sister, and he knew her better than to think she'd hurt him on purpose. If she said so, it must be true. 

"Daddy and Trunks are different, but most people are gonna think you're gross. But there's other people who have this thing called a fetish for aliens. In general, those're going to be the humans who are going to be remotely interested in you, but they're not interested in a relationship, really, they're interested in the novelty of your body and biology and how it can get them off." 

Tenshi put a hand on his shoulder. Dominion frowned. 

"I don't know if I understand...." 

"Which part?" 

"I'm not sure...." 

". . . I'm sorry." 

Tenshi hugged him, and Dominion hugged her back. He felt weird, but he couldn't describe it very well. 

It was better he heard the truth from her than hear a bunch of romanticized crap from Daddy, Tenshi reasoned with herself. 

 

Upstairs, Gohan fished the ziplock bag with the Namekian birth control in it from its new hiding spot, in his bedside drawer. Piccolo sat awkwardly on the bed next to him, blushing brightly. 

"Um, Gohan . . . ?" 

"Yeah?" 

Gohan opened the baggie, but looked up at Piccolo and didn't move to take a petal out. 

"I, uh . . . I know you're really looking forward to trying it out. But, um...." 

Gohan furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of where Piccolo was going with it. 

"But?" Gohan asked. 

Piccolo blushed more. 

"I . . . I'm scared," he admitted. "I've never. . . ." 

Gohan's hands lowered, the open baggie now sitting in his hands on his lap, and his expression softened from annoyed and suspicious to empathetic. 

Piccolo's arms were crossed, but Gohan could just see a slight shake in Piccolo's shoulders. 

"I've never even . . . _thought_ about . . . . I love you more than anything, but I've never even felt the need to . . . and I know how much you want to, and . . . and I _want_ to make you happy, but. . . ." 

Gohan looked down at the birth control in his hands and thought about it. 

He closed the bag, then put it back on the bedside table. He leaned back, placing his palms on the bed behind him and putting his weight on them. 

"So back then . . . it was because I was a kid, but also . . . ." 

Piccolo wasn't looking at Gohan. 

"I'm sorry." 

Gohan looked over at Piccolo, surprised. 

"What? No, don't be sorry.... I mean . . . yeah, I'm sexually frustrated, but . . . ." But it's his own fault for that, really. For waiting and waiting for Piccolo to respond back. "But there's no reason to make you feel bad because of it. And it doesn't . . . make me feel bad, really...." 

He was having a hard time explaining himself. And it seemed Piccolo was too. 

"But it's supposed to be a big part of this married thing, isn't it?" Piccolo asked, sounding a little afraid of the answer. 

Ever since they had gotten married, Gohan had been the only one Piccolo was willing to expose his own weaknesses to. Gohan was the only one to see him be afraid. 

"Maybe.... But you know? It's a lot more important we love each other and are together and that you're here and working and being with the kids.... Really, the kissing and sex stuff is the only problem we've ever had, and . . . and it doesn't impact how I feel about you or my perception of whether or not you love me.... I'm just frustrated sometimes. And I'm sorry if that makes you feel bad...." 

Piccolo was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke up, "I wouldn't mind if you hooked up with someone. If you wanted to. Or there's . . . isn't there toys or something for that too?" 

Gohan snorted. 

"Yeah, there's sex toys." Gohan started to laugh. "Maybe that can be my birthday present from you." 

Piccolo blushed furiously, but he didn't say no. 

"I could never hook up with anyone, though.... It'd feel like I was cheating. Or else, I'd've...." 

". . . Been Pan's father instead?" 

Gohan was quiet for a long moment. 

". . . Yeah. . . ." 

Gohan was frowning, then he turned into Piccolo. Piccolo wrapped his arm around him and hugged him to his side. 

"You love her a lot, too." Piccolo stated. 

"Yeah." 

"And if we weren't . . . you'd be with her." 

". . . Yeah. And she wouldn't be . . . she wouldn't be hurting right now because she wouldn't be alone in everything. . . ." 

"It's not your fault." 

"Isn't it? I drug her father down, and that's ruined everything for them...." 

"This is why we live in the mountains and not in the city. Human society is a fucking mess." 

Gohan nodded in agreement with him. 

"The only reason it's a mess is because a bunch of no bodies decided they weren't good enough for them. They should be ashamed of themselves." 

Gohan nodded again. 

Piccolo held and comforted Gohan until he fell asleep, then he went downstairs to meditate with their children.


	56. Bombshell Blonde by Owl City (Dominion)

AT Tenshi, like Tenshi, fell asleep when she was too tired or had exhausted too much energy. So after she had gotten some broth to drink, she had fallen asleep. Future Trunks sat nearby and watched her nap, until he himself fell asleep as well. Bulma checked up on them at one point, then went on to her own bed. 

It was the middle of the night when AT Tenshi sprung up with a gasp, eyes wide and panicked. 

She grabbed Future Trunks and shook him hard. 

"Trunks! TRUNKS!" 

"Huh?" 

He rubbed his eye as he woke up. 

"What's wrong?" 

"It's him! He's not here yet, but he will be, and _we can't be here when he does_!" 

"Wha-? Who's here?" 

Future Trunks woke up further when she uttered the words. 

" _The monster_!" 

 

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi immediately went to Trunks and Vegeta, waking them up. AT Tenshi was in charge of waking up Trunks, and she did so very unceremoniously. 

"WAKE UP!" 

Trunks fell out of his bed. 

"The hell - !?" 

She grabbed him and brought him to his feet. 

"You! Learn to fuse with Tenshi! NOW! IT'S IMPORTANT!" 

"She's not here!" 

"Then call Goku!" 

Trunks grabbed the phone and dialed the Sons' number. 

Future Trunks woke Vegeta and Bulma and caught them up to speed. 

"The first threat to the Earth that Tenshi has to overcome with the fusion technique is on its way! It's not here yet, but it will be soon! We've gotta move!" 

Vegeta didn't need to be told twice. He got into his battle suit, then hurried out with Future Trunks. 

Trunks got Tenshi on the phone. 

"What the hell, Trunks? It's three in the morning, and the others - " 

"Do you feel that ki coming towards the Earth?" 

Tenshi, Piccolo, and Dominion focused on it for a moment, then slowly both Piccolo and Tenshi started to react in similar ways: eyes widening and bodies starting to tremble. 

"Wh-what is that?" Dominion asked. 

" _Fuck,_ " Tenshi said. 

"You've gotta get over here!" Trunks said. "Future me and Other you says we've gotta fuse _now_!" 

"Right! Be right there!" 

Tenshi hung up, then ran up the stairs. 

"GRANDPA!" 

Gohan and Goten woke up from Tenshi's screaming up the stairs, and Gohan immediately jumped out of bed and hurried to see what was happening. 

Tenshi got them up to speed and demanded that Goku teleport them back to the Briefs. Goku agreed, and Tenshi gripped onto the front of his night shirt. Gohan and Piccolo grabbed onto Tenshi's shoulders, and Goten latched onto Piccolo's cape before Goku took them all away. 

Dominion stood in the doorway, trembling. 

This was his first ever experience with the Earth being in danger, and he was scared. 

"Grandma? What're we gonna do?" 

Chichi beckoned him into the bed with her, and he got onto it and crawled on over to her. She pulled him into her arms and held him. 

"We're going to wait here and pray for the best. Your grandfather is one of the strongest people there is." 

 

Goku, Tenshi, Goten, Gohan, and Piccolo arrived at the Briefs, and Vegeta, Future Trunks, Trunks, and AT Tenshi met them in the yard. 

"We've got . . . I dunno, an hour? To teach you the fusion technique, so let's go!" AT Tenshi said, clearly agitated. "Then Trunks and I are _outta here_!" 

"Wait, you're not gonna help?" Goku asked. 

"Fuck no, the Time Patrol only interferes if there's a time anomaly, which there isn't," AT Tenshi said. 

"We technically could, but considering we've discovered _exactly_ what the threat is, we're not in a position to help," Future Trunks said. "The last time Tenshi encountered this opponent, the trauma was so severe that - "

" _They don't need to know about that!_ " AT Tenshi said, gritting her teeth. "We don't have time for explanations, let's go!" 

"Sorry..." 

"So what do we do?" Tenshi asked. 

Piccolo zapped those who were still in pajamas into fighting gi, his husband and child wearing his purple gi and Goku and Goten in their orange. 

"To start with," AT Tenshi said, "the two of you need to be standing beside each other." 

Trunks and Tenshi got into position, as did Future Trunks in regards to AT Tenshi. 

"Now, there are different fusion dances, but this is the simplest and best to start out with," AT Tenshi said. "First, you hold out your arms like this, and your partner mirrors you." 

Future Trunks and AT Tenshi demonstrated, their arms pointing away from the other. 

"Then you take your arms and swing them to your other side, like this," Future Trunks said. "While taking three steps away from your partner. Be mindful of how you're standing as you do so. Your knees have to be bent." 

"And you have to start the word 'Fusion' at this point, so it's 'Fu'...." AT Tenshi added. 

"Then," Future Trunks started. 

"You make a quarter turn while lifting your knee." 

"And tighten your hands into fists." 

"While completing the word with 'Sion!'"

"Be careful of the angle of your knee." 

"And then the final step." 

"You step out, with your arms outstretched to your partner." 

"With your index fingers extended, meeting up with your partner's." 

"And you shout 'Ha!' at this point." 

"The angle of your legs is very important. Any off-kilter angles, and it'll fuck the whole thing up!" 

Tenshi and Trunks stared at them, starting to feel like this wasn't going to be easy at all. And definitely not something they could learn in an hour. 

"Can you . . . show us that again?" Tenshi asked. 

"Only if you walk through it while we do it," Future Trunks said. 

Tenshi and Trunks nodded, then got into position. 

"Fu-" 

"Fu...."

"Sion-" 

"Sion...."

"HA!"

"Ha!" 

Tenshi missed Trunks's fingers entirely. She only just realized she hadn't been standing far enough away from him. 

"Fuck." 

AT Tenshi glowered at her, though it was becoming increasingly clear that the closer the threat to the Earth got, the less she wanted to be there. And the longer it took them to learn the Fusion Dance, the longer they had to wait before they could leave. 

"Again!" AT Tenshi shouted. 

Tenshi adjusted her position, then she and Trunks tried again. 

"Fu - Sion - !" 

"Other me, mind your knee!" 

Trunks twitched. 

"It's not as easy as you make it look!"

"Again!" 

"Fu - Sion - !" 

"Quarter turn, not a half turn!" 

"Ugh!" 

"Again!" 

"Fu - Sion - H-!"

"Fuck!" 

Tenshi and Trunks missed each other's fingers, and AT Tenshi started to scream through her gritted teeth and grab the sides of her head. 

"I can't! I can't do this! Not with that _thing_ coming! Goku! You handle it!" 

"Uh, okay! But, uh, I teleported you here, you need me to take you back!" 

"THEN TEACH THEM WHEN YOU COME BACK, LET'S GO!"

Goku flinched a little from the volume of her screaming, but he hurried over to them and reached out to touch them. AT Tenshi grabbed onto Goku's arm tightly, and Future Trunks grasped Goku's gi. 

"Be right back!" Goku said. 

And away they went. 

Goku came back almost immediately and put his hands on his hips. 

"All righty then! Where were we?" 

Tenshi and Trunks went through the motions more, but the longer it took, the less time they had, and they could feel the ki signal of the threat coming closer and closer and closer.... 

"We're not gonna manage in time!" Trunks said, sweating a little, and Tenshi needed a breather. 

"Well, I guess we'll have to distract it while you two keep trying, then," Goku said. "That all right with you guys?" 

Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Goten nodded. 

Then - they felt the ki break through the Earth's atmosphere. It was here. 

They braced themselves and looked around in the sky to see where it was. 

It soon revealed itself. 

It was big, and it was strong. Its ki was through the roof. 

And it was a Super Saiyan. 

"KAAAAAKAAAAAAROTTTTTTTTT!"


	57. Shut Up And Dance by Walk the Moon (Tenshi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has graphic violence akin to but less than the first chapter of With Arms Wide Open: Time Scroll. And less character death.

The arrival of Broly was very . . . immediate. And explosive. And destructive. 

The ki signal from Broly meant that it wasn't too long before Vegeta, Goku, Goten, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, and Tenshi were joined by Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Krillin, 18, and Videl.

The new arrivals were gifted the sight of Vegeta, Piccolo, and Goten getting blasted across the quickly-appearing ruins around them as Metro West City was steadily destroyed by the battle. Civilians were running away, screaming in terror. 

"Just who the hell is that!?" Videl said, staring up at Broly in terror. 

"No idea! But it's a Saiyan, and it's destroying _everything_!" Krillin said. 

Goku and Gohan flew right at Broly, Super Saiyan stages in play, but Broly gave one good punch to Goku's gut and blew him away, knocking the wind - and the Super Saiyan form - out of him temporarily. Broly caught Gohan by the arm, however, and he grabbed Gohan around the waist. Broly was so much bigger than them that Broly's entire hand could wrap around Gohan's body. He pulled and pulled Gohan in two different direction, and Gohan screamed as Broly first dislocated his shoulder, broke several bones in his arm from the effort of pulling, and then ripped it clean off. 

Gohan's screams echoed across, and everyone stared in horror, Gohan's red blood raining down onto the ground. Broly then threw Gohan like a doll across the space. 

Videl flew up and caught Gohan, but the effort with which Gohan was thrown pushed both of them much farther back. Videl lowered him to the ground, shocked at the level of violence she had just witnessed and at what had happened to her friend. Gohan was still screaming from pain, his Super Saiyan form still being maintained, but barely. Not that Videl knew that or even really knew what this blond-hair, blue-eyed thing was about. 

" _DADDY_!" Tenshi screamed, starting to run over to Gohan and Videl, but Trunks grabbed her arm. 

"The fusion - !" 

"Isn't working! We're sucking at it, we can't - !" 

"We've almost got it, I'm sure of it! Then we'll take this brute down and get Gohan to the hospital!" 

"But Daddy - !" 

"He needs us to fuse so no one else ends up like that!" 

Tenshi turned back around and grabbed Trunks's shoulders. 

"Fuck! Why is this happening!? Why now!? And why can't we fuse, it wasn't nearly this hard with Goten!" 

"It's a high-stress situation, and it's getting to the both of us, but we can do it!" It wasn't that Trunks wasn't scared and worried and upset, but one of them had to keep their head together, and he was scared for his father and mother and little sister and Goten and Tenshi - if anything happened to any of them, he didn't know what he'd do with himself. 

He remembered her purple blood splattered on his shoes and the tournament ring tile and how her body had given out on her, and he couldn't witness that again. Never again, he couldn't handle it. He had to protect her, and fusing was the only way at this point. 

"Does it have to be that dance in particular?" Trunks asked. "Or does the shouting of 'fusion-ha' matter more?" 

"How should I know!? They only showed us the one and didn't say anything about any other dance!" 

"I know, I know, but - !" 

"We have to fuse, and we have to fuse now!" they said in unison, making better eye contact. 

It wasn't a fusion, but something clicked in their heads. They were in sync. 

Without saying a word, they got back into position. 

"FU-SION- _HA_!"

A bright light engulfed them, and both Trunks and Tenshi had only a moment to put up a mental barrier to prevent emotional and memory overload as they became one. 

They had grown up together, so many of their memories were of the same events, but it was rather weird to think about them from the other's perspective. Seeing Tenshi's body in front of herself through Trunks's eyes was so weird, and she understood better how her near-death experience had affected her friend, and Trunks now knew what it had been like to be held captive by your own father "for your own good" in that room at the Satan summer home all those years ago. No one ever talked about it anymore, and it wasn't something either of them was focusing on at the moment, but so many memories were washing through the other's brain as two became one that it was rather impossible not to have things that weren't relevant to the then-and-now pop up in their head. 

The light died down, and Trunshi was on the scene. 

The biggest difference in appearance between this Trunshi from the one that Future Trunks and AT Tenshi formed was that their hair was much shorter, much more like Trunks's was outside of fusion. Aside from that, they looked rather much the same. 

Trunshi's eyes opened in time to see Yamcha's leg suffer a similar fate to Gohan's arm. Yamcha hit the ground with a loud thud, screaming all the way down. His own blood rained down on him from the limb that Broly still held and used to hit Tenshinhan in the head and neck. 

How Tenshinhan survived it was a mystery, but he hit the ground, unconscious. 

"HEY! ASSHOLE!" Trunshi shouted. 

Broly turned his head, glaring at them with soulless eyes. 

Trunshi - perhaps recklessly - powered up in the blink of an eye, hitting Super Saiyan with little effort at all, and the surge of power as of yet untapped was rather intoxicating. 

Had they not been so angry, it might have gone to their head. 

"YOUR REAL ENEMY IS RIGHT THE FUCK OVER HERE!" 

Okay, maybe it went to their head a little. 

"KA-KA-ROTTTTT!" 

Broly flew at Trunshi. 

Given the opportunity to (and considering they were the few who were still conscious and able to help), Goku, Piccolo, and Videl tended to the injured. 

"Goku, take Yamcha and Gohan to Dende!" Piccolo said. 

"Right!" Goku said, first taking Yamcha and teleporting to Dende's Lookout. 

Piccolo checked that the others were still alive, then went to Videl and Gohan. 

Gohan had stopped screaming, but he was pale and was losing a lot of blood. Videl had wrapped it up and was putting pressure on it, but she was scared and wasn't sure how much she was actually helping. 

"Gohan....!" Piccolo said, bringing his hand and brushing Gohan's hair out of his face. 

Gohan turned his head to look at Piccolo, and tears rolled down Gohan's face as he did so. 

"Tenshi - ?" 

"Is fused with Trunks," Piccolo said. "They're handling it." 

"Is she - ?" 

Piccolo looked over at the fight. 

"They're doing a lot fucking better than we did." 

Trunshi gave a great big punch to Broly's gut, and the brute was frozen in pain for a good few moments. 

Piccolo looked back at Gohan. 

"Goku's gonna take you to Dende," Piccolo said, right as Goku appeared by them. 

Videl let go of Gohan as Goku touched him. Piccolo took his hand back. 

"Don't die," Piccolo said. 

Gohan nodded, and Goku and Gohan teleported to Dende's. 

Goten and Vegeta were picking themselves up off the ground, groaning from the aches and pains. 18 kicked the rubble off of her and climbed out from the wreckage. Some sparks were flying off of her. Her robotic parts would need tending to. Tenshinhan and Krillin were still knocked out. That wasn't good. 

"We need to get them to a hospital _right now_." 

Videl nodded and got up off her knees to help him. 

The focus on the hospital trip was Krillin, Tenshinhan, and 18. Goten and Vegeta stayed with Trunshi. 

Trunshi's punches and kicks were more powerful than they ever were when they were just Tenshi or Trunks, and the part of Trunshi that was Tenshi was feeling what ki-blasts were like for the first time, _and it was incredible_. The amount of power that thrummed through their body with each blast, they could feel it go through their veins, and the part of them that was Tenshi was jealous that Trunks and the others could feel this all the time and not feel like dying afterwards. 

They could fly around Broly, and it felt wonderful, and Tenshi was jealous ever more. 

Tenshi never wanted to be un-fused, and Trunks loved being this close to her. 

Trunshi grinned darkly at Broly as they put their hands together and to their side, preparing for what they planned to be their final blow. 

"KAAAAAAAA-MEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAA-MEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" 

The kamehameha blast hit Broly square in the chest, and the amount of energy present in the blast astounded not just Trunshi, but Goten and Vegeta as well. Vegeta's jaw fell open as he felt the vibrations of the ki blast, felt their ki level soar new heights that he had never felt before, and Goten was speechless and couldn't even think of anything that he could possibly compare it to. 

Their power was overwhelming and rather terrifying, and Goten had never been more glad to have someone on his side before. 

Broly was pushed up, up, up into the sky. At some point, they could no longer feel Broly's ki signal.... He was gone as quickly as he had come. 

Trunshi powered down, then took out their inhaler from their pocket and put it to their mouth. 

"Are we sure he's gone?" Goten asked. 

Trunshi shrugged. 

"We'd still feel his ki even if he was just outside the atmosphere. However he got here, he must've left the same way...." Trunshi said, both Trunks's and Tenshi's voices speaking at once. 

"That's true.... But we should still be on our guard. Always," Vegeta said. 

Trunshi nodded. 

"Your mother and Videl took some of the others to the hospital, and Kakarott took Gohan and Yamcha to Dende at the Lookout. I imagine Goku will bring them back here when they're all healed." 

Trunshi frowned. 

"Is Daddy Gohan gonna be okay?" Trunshi said, the words Daddy and Gohan being said simultaneously. It sounded weird. 

Neither Vegeta nor Goten had an answer.


	58. Opium by Marcy the Playground (Chichi)

No one died, thanks to Dende and the hospital, but Tenshinhan and Krillin would have killer headaches for a while, and Dr. Brief had to work extensively on 18's robotic repairs. 

Yamcha and Gohan . . . were alive. And that was what was important. 

Both requested off from work. Yamcha supplied a doctor's note while Gohan just snapped a picture of his lack of arm and sent it to his employer. They immediately gave him the time off. 

Gohan was still rather pale in the face for the next few days, and when Chichi first saw that he was missing an arm, she had started crying and hugged him tightly. 

At the moment, Gohan was sitting on the couch with Dominion at his side. Dominion was reading aloud to him, and Gohan repeatedly kept trying to put his arm around his son's shoulders but having to be reminded that arm wasn't there anymore. Dominion pretended he didn't notice the waving of the small stump that was left. 

It was the left arm that was gone. None of them were aware that it was the same arm that the Gohan in Future Trunks's timeline had lost. Thankfully, Gohan was right-handed.... But his brain thought it was still there, so he kept trying to do things with it, and it was incredibly frustrating for him. 

For once, Dominion wasn't reading one of his educational books, but reading allowed Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park." He had never read it before, and it seemed like a good book to distract Daddy with. And they had seen the movie, but it was interesting to see how it differed. Though every time it mentioned Dr. Grant having a beard, Dominion got very confused and thought it was talking about someone else. 

Piccolo brought over a tray with a tea pot and teacups, then set it on the coffee table and situated himself so that he was meditating nearby. Chichi soon entered as well with food that would be easy to eat with one hand. She placed that on the coffee table as well. Goten was sitting on Gohan's other side, and Gohan eventually rested his head on his mother's shoulder, still listening to Dominion read. Goten was half-cuddled up to Gohan, doing his best to comfort his big brother. 

Outside in the yard, Goku and Tenshi were sparring. 

Goku's face was serious, and Tenshi was overexerting herself. She moved as though she was still fused with Trunks, but her face mask was on and her tank on her back, and Goku was mindful of how she was pushing herself too much and waiting for the moment when they would _have_ to stop. 

The time came soon, and she collapsed, leaning against Goku. Goku stood still, being her wall of support. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she struggled to catch her breath. 

"You shouldn't do that," Goku said softly. 

It was a long while before Tenshi responded. 

"It's my fault. If Trunks and I had just figured out how to fuse faster, Dad and Yamcha would still...." 

Goku frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"You did the best you could. That's all you can do." 

"It's not _good enough_." 

Goku sighed, then picked her up and carried her bridal-style back into the house. 

Piccolo and Gohan looked over at them, concerned when they saw that Tenshi was being carried. Goku gave them a reassuring look and brought her over to a chair and set her down. She focused on her breathing, her chest going up and down and her hand pressing against her face mask. Goku double-checked the amount of air Tenshi still had in her tank, then sat on the floor, legs criss-crossed.

Dominion paused in his reading when they heard a knocking at the door. 

Piccolo answered it, and there were Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Bra, and Yamcha. Yamcha was leaning on a crutch, pant leg dangling where there wasn't any leg to fill it. 

"We found them all," Bulma said, the Dragon Radar hanging off her hip. The Capsule Corp plane was parked in the front yard. 

Dominion stayed by Gohan's side as they went into the front yard and Bulma summoned the Eternal Dragon. 

He had never seen the Dragon before, and neither had Tenshi or Goten or Trunks. All three of them stared up at the Dragon with wide eyes, unable to help being in awe of it. Bra clung to Trunks's hand, mouth open. 

"It's so big!" she gasped. 

"State your wish," Shenron said. 

"We wish for Gohan and Yamcha to have their missing limbs back!" Bulma shouted up at it. 

Tenshi bit her bottom lip, hoping that this could be fixed. 

The eyes of the Dragon glowed for a moment, then it died. Nothing happened. 

"I cannot grant this wish." 

"What!?" 

"What do you mean you can't grant it!?" Yamcha demanded, clutching his crutch too tightly. 

"The injuries were inflicted by a being who was not a part of this universe. This being was brought here through the power of a Kai. The Kai had plans. I cannot go against those plans. Unless another Kai asks it of me, I cannot give you back your limbs. Do you have any other wishes?" 

Tenshi's eyes were wide. 

"What's a Kai?" Dominion asked. 

"A Kai is a god," Goku said, eyebrows furrowing. "Like King Kai who taught me the Spirit Bomb and Kaioken techniques. There's a lot of different ones. King Kai is North Kai, and then there's South Kai and East Kai and West Kai, and they reign over different areas of our universe. But there are more, from what King Kai said...." 

"They're stronger than Dende?" Gohan asked, voice soft and not quite as distraught as it maybe should have been. 

Goku nodded. 

"In many ways, nothing can happen without their permission, but there are different levels of Kaioshin. Like, North Kai can be overruled by the Grand Kai, but the Grand Kai has to listen to the Supreme Kai of his quadrant, and there's a Supreme Kai over the Supreme Kais, and then there are Kai who control very powerful aspects of the universes and they are as powerful as those elements, which means they can be more powerful and have more sway than even the Grand Supreme Kai...." 

"Just what the hell was this plan!?" Tenshi demanded, strutting up to Shenron. "Just what could _possibly_ prevent you giving my dad his arm back!? And Yamcha his leg!?" 

Shenron stared down at her, and she refused to be intimidated. He _would_ give them back - ! 

"Is that your wish? To know what the plan for your universe was?" 

"YES!" Tenshi said. 

"Tenshi - !" Bulma started, but it was too late. 

Shenron's eyes glowed, and then he begun to impart the information. 

"The plan that the Kai had was to destroy your timeline. The quickest, least complicated way to eliminate a timeline is to destroy all that is in it that is creating the divergence. The Super Saiyan known as Broly will return again, for he is but a pawn in the Kai's quest for restoring order to time itself. The arm and leg are a part of this timeline and have been destroyed. Hence why they cannot be brought back." 

The group was stricken by the information. A Kai . . . wanted their entire timeline destroyed? 

"But - but why!? Why would they want our timeline destroyed!?" 

"It is a fragment. It diverged from the main timeline and spiraled out of control." 

"What? But - but - !" 

"The birth of Son Tenshi was the divergent point for this timeline. She is not supposed to exist. Thus, the Kai wants her and all connected with her destroyed, which will bring the timeline back to order." 

"But then why wait this long!? We're almost adults - she's almost an adult! Why now!?" Trunks demanded. 

"The Kai is a very busy woman. And very scatter-brained." 

Tenshi wished she could use ki so she could _Special Beam Cannon this stupid dragon in the face_. 

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Chichi screamed at him, startling everyone. 

"Chichi...." Goku said, seeming to understand her grief. For once. 

"That is not for me to decide. Do you have a second wish?" Shenron asked. 

"YES! I WISH YOU'D PROTECT MY FAMILY FROM THAT MONSTER! I WISH YOU'D KEEP THEM FROM HARM AND NOT LET ANYTHING ELSE BAD HAPPEN TO THEM! GOD DAMN IT, TOO MUCH HAS HAPPENED TO THEM AND I WANT IT TO STOP!" 

"That wish is beyond my power." 

Chichi screamed and started to break down crying. Goku reached out to touch her, but she turned away from him and went to Piccolo instead. Piccolo wrapped his arm around her and put his hand on her opposite shoulder as she cried into his chest. 

After a while, Gohan spoke up. 

"I wish Yamcha and I had prosthetics that worked and fit perfectly." 

Shenron's eyes glowed. 

"As you wish." 

Both Gohan and Yamcha hissed for a moment, then looked down at their respective stumps. Gohan felt whatever it was link up to his nervous system, and it hurt rather intensely for a good few moments. But then he watched as he moved his prosthetic arm. It didn't have a flesh covering, but Gohan didn't mind that so much. 

It did not feel like his real arm. Or . . . should he say first arm? But it was better than nothing, and he'd learn how to use it. 

"Whoa...." Dominion said, staring at it. "That's actually really cool-looking." 

Dominion's attention stayed on the robotic arm as Shenron bid them farewell and the Dragon Balls scattered. 

"So you're really moving it with your thoughts? I wouldn't've thought you could 'cause that hasn't been officially invented yet. Does that mean someone in the world figured out how to work or you and Yamcha are the only ones with them?" Dominion asked, holding onto his daddy's flesh hand tighter. 

Gohan smiled down at him. 

"I dunno. But I'm sure you'll be able to find out." 

Dominion nodded rapidly. 

Yamcha tried out the robotic leg, doing a practice kick. He lost his balance because he hadn't quite adjusted to going from having a leg, losing the leg, then regaining a leg that _weighed_ differently from the first one yet. Goku teleported to keep Yamcha from falling over. 

"Heh, thanks, Goku," Yamcha said. 

Goku smiled at him. "No problem." 

Goku gave a small glance towards Chichi and Piccolo. Chichi had managed to get a hold of herself and was wiping her eyes. Piccolo was asking her softly if she was all right. 

It clicked in Goku's head that things really were different now, and that felt . . . weird. 

But he didn't dwell on it long.


	59. First Date by Blink 182 (Tenshi)

It felt so weird to be going on a date in the midst of all the crap that had happened. But the life and world around them kept going like their universe wasn't under threat of getting destroyed at any moment by a giant monster Super Saiyan at the beck and call of a capricious god. The bills kept coming in and school kept being in session and the clock kept ticking. 

And Trunks wanted nothing more than to spend his day off with Tenshi doing things that would bring a smile to her face, and Tenshi felt her resolve in staying away from her growing affection for him faltering. 

It was a weird thing to experience: knowing that you were so endeared to someone, but seeing yourself as unworthy of their time and attention, even when they behaved in ways that annoyed you or made you feel weird or uncomfortable (like when Trunks would get jealous of others). He was still very much her friend in her eyes, but there were parts of her that she saw as . . . not girlfriend material, and she didn't feel like she was in a place where she was deserving of the title for Trunks, someone she felt deserved the best the world had to offer. 

But he felt differently, and Tenshi had no idea how to convince him that she wasn't right for him right now. 

It wasn't stopping her from trying to pick out the right outfit for their date at the amusement park. 

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Goten?" Tenshi asked. 

Goten shook his head. "Trunks actually gave me a cash incentive for not tagging along, so you're on your own." 

"Are you _serious_?" 

Goten held up the paper money with a bit of a smirk on his face. 

"This is gonna pay for several new albums and a concert ticket and band T-shirts." 

"Oh no, you're not gonna go completely death metal groupie on me, are you?" 

"What else am I gonna do without you two around to entertain me?" 

"Grandma's gonna kill you." 

Goten laughed, then came over and put his hand on her shoulder. 

"You look great. Don't worry about it." 

She was currently wearing a pink blouse, rather reminiscent of a blouse that Chichi owned, and nice blue jeans with a fashionable belt around the waist. She wore hot pink lipstick and popping blue eye shadow and had invested in a little bit of eyeliner. 

After a beat, she asked, "Should I invest in a wig at some point?" 

Goten raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I dunno.... Do I look plain at all with nothing going on up here?" 

She gestured around her head. 

"No. I meant it, you look great. No hair needed." 

Tenshi took a deep breath, then nodded. 

"Right. You're right. I look fab." 

Goten smiled. 

"Do you know where Trunks is taking you?" 

She snorted. 

"He's such a dork and insisted we go to the amusement park because I, quote-on-quote, 'can't fly and thus will still find rollercoasters to be a thrill' like Bulma." 

Goten's smile widened. 

"And you're looking forward to it." 

Tenshi shoved Goten playfully, then turned to leave the room. 

 

Her air tank hung off the straps around her shoulders, and its presence made itself known every now and then as it bumped against her back as she weaved back and forth in one spot as she waited for Trunks to meet her at the amusement park entrance. She had driven herself and insisted on not getting picked up. 

She was a bit early, so waiting for Trunks wasn't that weird.

"Hey!" Trunks called out. 

Tenshi turned her head towards his voice, and her eyes widened when she saw that he must've gone shopping for a new outfit for today. It wasn't anything frightfully formal or anything like that - wasn't Trunks's style - but the lavender jeans were form-fitting and his black tank top hung a bit loosely, showing off just enough of his neck and chest that, from her height and tilting her head to look him in the eye, she could see quite a bit of what was underneath the shirt. 

She blushed a light purple. 

"Hey." 

"Sorry to keep you waiting." 

"Don't worry about it. I was a bit too early, anyway." 

Trunks was smiling at her, and she made herself look away from him. 

"You look good." 

"You too." 

"C'mon, let's pay admission and start having some fun." 

He offered his hand to her, and she glanced at it and hesitated before taking it into her hand, like they would when they were children, and walking with him to the ticket booth. 

Trunks typically paid for everything when she, Goten, and Trunks were hanging out unless she or Goten got to the cash register first. Tenshi had no problems with letting Trunks throw his money around. It made him feel important, and while she wouldn't admit it out loud, she actually did like to be pampered just a bit. (Daddy just went overboard to the point of smothering, which was why she didn't let on that she liked being pampered.) 

He paid for the theme park tickets, they were given their wristbands to prove they had paid for admission, and then they were allowed into the park. 

She had kind of expected to be nervous about the date going well or nervous about things being awkward between them for at least a while, but she found that it was rather easy for things to just go back to being as comfortable as things typically were between them. 

"Hey, how much you wanna bet we can win whatever we wanted from the test of strength over there?" Trunks asked, gesturing to one of those things where you take the hammer, hit the scale, and the weight goes up to try to hit the bell. 

Tenshi smirked. 

"Totally." 

The guy in charge of the carnival game chuckled to himself as he saw that the disabled green one wanted to try, but he let her take the hammer and give it a go. His eyes widened as she had the weight hit the bell with ease, and she and Trunks high-fived each other as she picked out a giant stuffed animal. 

They ended up giving the stuffed animal to a little kid who was upset she had lost all of her coins for the shoot-the-ducks and had no prize to show for it. They then took their own shots at aiming at the ducks. Trunks's aim was a lot better than Tenshi's was, and he won a little clown doll. He grinned and pushed it into Tenshi's face, and she shrieked and leaned away from it, laughing and begging him to keep it away from her. 

"It's creepy!" 

"I think it's kinda cute."

"No way! You just like scaring me!" 

"Ha ha, that _might_ have something to do with it!" 

"Jerk!" 

But she wasn't seriously afraid of it and didn't mind Trunks sneaking it into her back pocket. She had plans to spook him with it later and pretended like she didn't notice it in her pocket at all. 

After that, they headed for the rollercoaster. The usher who was responsible for making sure the guests were safe on the rollercoaster looked nervous about Tenshi getting on the coaster with her air tank, but Trunks puffed himself up a bit and frightened the usher into not making a fuss over it. 

Trunks was right; Tenshi screamed and hollered all during the ride, and as they got off, he teased her, and she shoved him playfully while laughing. 

"It was fun, though! If anything, you flying took the fun out of it for you. I feel sorry for you." 

Trunks smirked. 

"Yeah, whatever." 

It was like they were little kids again, just running around and having fun, not thinking about the destruction of their timeline or pervy boys or bitchy girls or trying to piss the other off. She challenged him to a race to the merry-go-round, and they played the Dunk Tank game and won a few more prizes - Trunks winning stuff with his better aim and Tenshi beating the Strong Man at the arm wrestling contest. 

Lunch was Tenshi sipping on a green tea while watching Trunks eat a hot dog with everything on it and giggling as he got mustard on his nose. 

The last thing they did at the amusement park was ride the ferris wheel. It stopped at the top for a little while, and Tenshi rested her head on Trunks's shoulder, her body slumped quite a bit in an ironically comfortable position. They looked out at all of West Metro City from up there. 

"I really liked this," Tenshi said. 

Trunks smiled. "I'm glad.... Would you like to go on another date sometime?" 

Tenshi nodded. 

"Yeah. I think I would really like that." 

Trunks's smile widened into a grin. 

He held her hand gently but firmly all the way to the amusement park exit and walked her to her car. 

"Do you wanna see a movie or something? Same day, same time?" 

"Movie sounds good. There's that martial art movie that came out this weekend. We can see that?" 

"Sure! See you in school." 

"Yeah. See you." 

Tenshi thought about how Trunks's hand felt in hers all the way back home as she drove. 

 

When Trunks arrived back home, Vegeta was watching the news. The investigation into Lucas's death was officially labeled as a cold case. Vegeta tapped his finger on his bicep. He was still feeling rather suspicious about that. 

Vegeta didn't know it, but Piccolo was watching the same news bulletin on the TV at the Sons' house. Gohan was passing the living room as it was on and paused, stopping to watch the TV over Piccolo's shoulder. 

Piccolo picked up on Gohan's presence and turned his head around to look at him. 

Gohan avoided eye contact with Piccolo and continued to go towards the stairs. 

Piccolo hesitated, then admitted cowardice to himself as he turned to look back at the television. 

He couldn't bring himself to ask him yet.


	60. Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen (Trunks, Pan)

The first few dates they had, Goten didn't mind staying behind. They were a new couple, it was natural. And they still hung out at school. 

But the months passed, and Goten started realizing how things were changing. 

On Sundays, they went around town together, but.... 

"What movie do you want to see?" Trunks asked. 

"Oh! That one has Jackie Chan in it! Let's see that one!" 

"I was kind of wanting to see - " Goten started, but Trunks just ignored him entirely. 

"Three for the Jackie Chan one, please!" 

Goten gaped at Trunks, but it was like he wasn't there. Tenshi didn't stand up for him either. 

"The hell, you two?" Goten said, but they just walked ahead of him, Tenshi grabbing hold of Trunks's arm. 

Eyebrows furrowed, Goten followed after them. Trunks paid for the concessions, so at least he managed to get a large popcorn, pretzel, and a hot dog out of it. Even though he was more interested in the Yu-Gi-Oh movie playing a couple theatres down. 

And it would've been easier to focus on the movie if he wasn't hearing Trunks dotting Tenshi's skin with kisses two seats down from him. Tenshi giggled with each one, shoving him gently off of her, but without any actual protests. 

Goten ended up getting up and milling around in the concessions area for the last thirty minutes of the movie. 

When Trunks and Tenshi emerged, they hadn't seemed to notice. 

"Hey, Goten, do you wanna get some ice cream?" 

Goten shrugged. "Sure. Whatever." 

Trunks raised an eyebrow, and Tenshi tilted her head a bit, but neither of them asked Goten what the tone was about. 

This ended up being a usual thing every time they hung out with all three of them together. Eventually Goten just . . . stopped going out with them. 

So he stayed at home. Moping. And listening to his heavy metal on his iPod. 

He thought about going back to the comic book store, but. . . . 

_Lucas grabbing Tenshi, not listening to them, and the fear that gripped him and how he had just stood there doing **nothing** like a coward, despite his strength._

And Lucas may be dead, but.... 

Goten went over to his computer and typed in some key words. He was able to pull up the news reports. The police reports were not as well-guarded online as he thought they would be, so he actually was able to find the photographs that they had on file. It involved no hacking, so the files were available to the public apparently. 

He rather wished they weren't after looking at them, but they were. 

It was gruesome and gross and bloody. Whoever or whatever had done this to the sexual assault aggressor had not considered mercy. The way that the body parts had been ripped off, it was clear it wasn't from any kind of blade or weapon. Unless there was a robot able to grab onto people and rip them apart..... But unless it was an android, in all likelihood, this was murder with someone's bare hands. 

But it wasn't him, and it wasn't Tenshi. He and she had been together in all that time, he knew it wasn't her. 

Was it Trunks? But Trunks wasn't that kind of man, so unless Tenshi asked it of him.... Which she didn't.... Did she? 

Or was it Piccolo? He had heard the stories, Piccolo would have it in him to kill. Or even Vegeta.... 

Or maybe it had nothing to do with them. With a creep like that, it was entirely likely he had attacked other girls or boys, and their families could've been pissed.... He might've done worse to others.... But were others in Metro West actually this strong? He supposed it wasn't unlikely.... 

But regardless of Lucas being dead, Goten still had this anxiety about going back to the comic book store. He couldn't make himself go, even though he wanted to play with someone, talk to someone. 

But instead, he was stuck at home, while Dominion was off with Pan and Piccolo and Gohan were at work and Mom was busy with her office stuff. Goten helped around the house, but that didn't really solve the feeling of loneliness. 

"Hey, Goten! Are you busy right now?" 

Goten looked up from the computer, then shook his head. 

"No." 

"Then why don't we train?" 

Goku smiled at his youngest son, and Goten shrugged. 

"Sure, why not." 

"Yes!" 

Goku and Goten then trained together, Goku pausing every now and then to instruct Goten on what he was doing wrong and what he needed to do in order to do better. It got Goten's mind off of the fact that he was now a third wheel to Tenshi and Trunks for a while. 

Goten had left up the page on his computer about Lucas's murder, so when Piccolo returned home, he saw it on the laptop and frowned. He browsed the page, frowning deepening at the contents and police work. 

Goku and Goten came back inside and Piccolo shut the laptop closed, but not before Goten saw that he had seen what was on it. Goten frowned, but neither of them spoke about it around Goku. 

"Hey Piccolo! How'd work go?" 

"It was fine. You know . . . it's a bodyguard gig, I could see if there was an opening if you wanted something to do in your abundant free time." 

Goku laughed a bit and said something about needing time to train and then managing to wander off into another part of the house. Piccolo rolled his eyes. 

Goten and Piccolo then made eye contact, and Goten fidgeted a little. 

"I'm just . . . still a little unnerved by the whole thing," Goten admitted, referring to Lucas. 

Piccolo nodded. 

"Me too. It . . . doesn't feel right. That it's . . . quote-on-quote resolved. I'm glad Tenshi isn't affected by it as much as she could be. Though compared to you, I wonder which one is the more healthy reaction...." 

Goten shrugged. "I'm a little jealous she's able to brush it off so well.... And I feel stupid for being more affected by it than she is...." 

Piccolo put his hand on Goten's shoulder and squeezed it, in an attempt to be comforting. 

"So . . . do you know what happened to him . . . ?" Goten dared to ask, looking up at Piccolo. 

Piccolo shook his head. 

"Not for certain. I'm just as unsure as you are." 

That crossed Piccolo off of the list of suspects, though Goten could really only see Vegeta doing it now.... But did Vegeta have enough of a motive for it? Yes, Tenshi was attacked, but Vegeta was Trunks's dad, not Tenshi's.... Vegeta didn't seem the type to go _that_ much out of his way. Unless he had just been . . . itching to kill someone, but Goten swore those days of Vegeta's were over. He hadn't known Vegeta as a genocidal maniac like the stories he sometimes heard (that were conveniently hushed when they saw Trunks or he or Tenshi were within hearing range). 

"I, uh, know I'm not very good with being . . . comforting," Piccolo said hesitantly. "But if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here for you." 

Goten smiled at him. 

"Thanks, Piccolo." 

He wasn't sure he could open up to Piccolo about feeling left out now that Trunks and Tenshi were a couple, but . . . he appreciated the offer. 

 

Gohan had given the birth control petals back to Tenshi, but gave her rather strict rules for when she was allowed to have sex and use them. Basically, no making out with strangers anymore. Tenshi had no problems with agreeing to those terms. 

But Gohan had actually laid very few ground rules for how to go about dating Trunks, so she just went with the flow about what felt right and was comfortable to her. 

Mostly it was hand-holding and cuddling and kissing each other on the cheek or hand or neck for them, and Tenshi was perfectly fine with that. 

They were chilling in the Briefs' kitchen one Sunday afternoon, Tenshi dotting kisses all over Trunks's neck and making him giggle as he tried to eat, when they heard Vegeta let out a victorious 'ah-HA!' They paused their love-playing and watched as Vegeta entered the kitchen. 

"What is it, Dad?" Trunks asked. 

"Present for you and the future boy came in the mail," Vegeta said. 

"Oooh, presents," Tenshi said. "What'd you get him?" 

Vegeta set the package on the counter, then ripped the cardboard box open. He took out wrapped package, then slid the box towards Trunks and Tenshi. 

"There you go. I'm going to figure out how to send this to the future boy." 

Vegeta then left the kitchen. 

Trunks took another bite of his food before pulling the cardboard box closer to him. Tenshi peered over his shoulder. 

"Oh my god," Tenshi said, smirking and trying not to laugh. 

Trunks paled and took the item out. 

It was the largest dildo either of them had ever seen. 

"Holy shit, your dad got you a sex toy the size of my dick," Tenshi said, the snorts and giggles bubbling into her voice. 

"Ohhhh my _god_ , why," Trunks said, dropping it back into the box and pushing it away from him. 

"So _that's_ why he asked if AT Tenshi and I were the same size in every sense of the word," Tenshi said, laughing proper at this point. 

Trunks blushed heavily and gave her a glare. 

"Shut up." 

"It's _hilarious_ , my parents would _never_ do that, hahahaha!" 

"It's embarrassing! I'm not using it." 

"I dunno, I bet we could have fun with it~" 

" _Tenshi!_ " 

She laughed. Trunks blushing was adorable. 

When Tenshi excused herself to go to the bathroom, Trunks took a better look at the dildo. Was her dick . . . really that big? 

He closed the box up, then got a helper robot to just discreetly take it up to his room. 

He would just never mention or talk about this ever again. 

Meanwhile, Vegeta and Bulma were talking about the ability to transfer something from their timeline to wherever Future Trunks was. Vegeta didn't understand most of Bulma's words, but Dr. Briefs knew what she was talking about, and together father and daughter managed to put together a test to see if they had found the right dimension and if Future Trunks had a way to receive gifts. 

Surprised that they were able to get his number, Future Trunks picked up and talked to them about it, saying they did have an inter-dimensional delivery system. It would just be a matter of them inventing a port that was very similar to what they had in TokiToki. 

"Here, let me see if I can get any blueprints and send them to you." 

"Thanks, darling!" Bulma said. 

They then waited for Future Trunks to get back with them with the blueprints, then Bulma and Dr. Briefs got to work. 

It took a while, but eventually they had their own machine to send things to TokiToki. Vegeta put the present in an all-new box into the machine, then pressed the button and off it went. 

"So what did you want to send to him, anyway?" Bulma asked. 

Vegeta smirked. 

"Ask the boy here." 

Bulma tilted her head, a little confused. Vegeta then went off to go train.


	61. On My Mind by Ellie Goulding (Trunks)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is sexual content in this chapter. All consensual.

Tenshi drove by herself to Trunks's house. She had promised she'd take Dominion to Pan's place, and she had already dropped him off and now it was date time. She was in a floral dress with a yellow bosom and a fluffy skirt. Her underwear for the day was closer to the skin than usual; it did feel a little weird to have her outer genitals press so close against the fabric, but TV and magazines said boys liked thongs and panties and shit like that instead of boxers. And she wanted to look good. Her lipstick was a yellow to go with her dress this time, with gold eyeshadow and glitter to go with. 

She stepped out of the car and walked up to the house after she parked, then let herself in instead of knocking. 

"Hey, Mrs. Briefs. Where's Trunks?" 

"He should be in his room. That's where I last saw him," Mrs. Briefs said. 

"Thanks!" 

Tenshi made a bee line to the upstairs while Mrs. Briefs continued to water her houseplants. She didn't see Dr. Briefs at any point, and she could sense Vegeta's ki coming from the Gravity Room. She didn't see Bulma either. 

She reached Trunks's room and knocked before pushing on the door and poking her head in. 

"Hey~!" she cooed, her voice smooth like honey. 

Trunks turned around, away from the mirror he was looking in, and smiled at her, blushing a bit. 

"Hey! You're early!" 

"Yup!" 

She entered the room, her eyes looking him over. 

"That a new outfit?" 

"Ah, yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, hand wrinkling the popped collar. 

Neither of them realized it, but Future Trunks had a jacket just like it but shorter and blue. This one looked much less like a woman's jacket and was black and was made of a more formal fabric. But it had the Capsule Corp logo on it. 

"When'd you guys start selling those?" 

"This is a prototype, actually. Mom says they'll be pretty popular, and I liked it, so I was trying it out." 

"It's cute. I like it." 

"They're coming in every color." 

Trunks wasn't going to mention it, but Bulma had actually started to get teary-eyed when he had tried on the blue one. He hadn't really understood that at all, and she didn't answer when he asked. 

Tenshi walked right over to him and put her arms around him, weaving her arms underneath the jacket as she pulled him closer. 

"You look best in black, I think," Tenshi said, leaning in. 

Trunks started to blush as her mouth came closer to his. 

"Hey, uh, what about your birth control?" he asked. 

She paused, then sighed and pulled her mouth away. 

"Dammit." 

"Do you have it on you?" 

"No." 

"Aw man." 

"I knew I was forgetting something." 

They hadn't really done any kissing, mostly because Trunks, despite wanting to, kept getting anxious about it. Tenshi may have gotten over the hammering of "don't share food, don't swap spit" that Gohan and Piccolo had given him, her, and Goten growing up, but Trunks kept getting this rapid heartbeat every time it got close to that. Like . . . he felt like the moment they locked lips, even if it was the driest kiss in the world, Gohan would burst right through the wall and beat his ass for "trying to get his daughter pregnant." Which it wasn't really pregnancy, but whatever. 

"Anyway, you said we were going to a concert, but you still haven't told me which one." 

Trunks gave her a smirk and reached into his pocket to hold up two tickets for the already-sold-out Coleman Hell + X Ambassadors concert that was that night.

"Oh my God, really!?"

Tenshi squeezed him tightly and started bouncing the both of them around. She knew Trunks didn't really dig that kind of music, but it was her favorite.

She planted a kiss on the corner of Trunks's mouth, then let him go. 

"What're we waiting for then!? Let's go!" 

"Ha ha, I need to put shoes on first." 

She was absolutely over the moon, and that made Trunks feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

Trunks slipped his shoes on, then they headed out, Trunks giving a goodbye to Bulma before they got into Tenshi's car. 

Bulma sighed and shook her head, smiling a little. Trunks was reminding her of herself a little bit when she had first started dating Yamcha. 

Trunks spent the majority of the date watching Tenshi be super excited and jumping up and down. They both sang along, though Tenshi knew the lyrics better. 

For the most part, they were left alone. Tenshi couldn't hear any rude comments about her body build in combination with her outfit due to the volume of the concert (and she did need some earplugs, so that helped with not hearing mean comments too). And for Trunks, any time spent with Tenshi was wonderful. 

They made it back to the car after the concert ended, and Tenshi drove out of the concert parking lot. But Trunks noticed they weren't exactly going home yet. 

"Had something planned?" Trunks asked. 

"Yeah, and I'll explain in a bit. Let's just find . . . here we go." 

She turned off the highway and headed outside the city limits, to where there was a pretty secluded area where they could park the car on a hill and look at the city from there. 

It was a typical setting from one of those movies where the teenagers were expected to start having sex in the car. 

"I know I don't have my birth control," Tenshi said, knowing what Trunks was thinking at this point. "But I had an idea." 

"I'm listening...." 

"Well - if you _want_ to kiss me and have sex with me, that is - " 

"Of course I do!" Trunks interrupted, not wanting her to think that he didn't. God, did he want to. She was beautiful, and he loved her, and these last few months dating were almost all he ever wanted. Almost. If she wanted to, of course he would, he was just - 

Tenshi laughed a little. "Holy shit, I've never heard anyone be that excited about it." 

Trunks blushed. "Anyway, you were saying?" 

"As I was saying, if we want to fuck and I don't have my birth control - why don't we just fuse?" 

"Huh? But how can we have sex if we're one person - ?" 

"We fuse, then masturbate. Duh." 

Trunks's blush darkened. 

"Granted," Tenshi continued, "I've been . . . wanting sex, but I'm not sure how you feel about it or how that would make you feel about the progress of our relationship. 'Cause, y'know, I just think it's . . . fun, and I like you and want to do fun things with you, but if it's - y'know - all commitment-y for you, then - " 

"Ah...." 

Trunks honestly didn't know if he thought sex equaled commitment. But.... 

"I don't have any problems with sex outside marriage, if that's what you mean. And I get it, we're just having fun. I don't want to have sex with anyone but you, and we both know how I get when you have sex with anyone else...." Trunks said. And that was true. "But I don't have any problem with fucking just for fun." 

Tenshi grinned seductively at Trunks, and Trunks felt his face heat up. 

Tenshi admittedly had a bit of an ulterior motive for suggesting they fuse. If it was just about sex, she could have easily suggested anal sex. But she knew full well Trunks had not been using the dildo that Vegeta bought him because he was embarrassed by the gift, and she'd only admit it if asked but she was afraid she'd accidentally hurt him. It wasn't like she had parents who had sex themselves and could embarrass both her and Dominion with stories about Namekian penis sliding up Saiyan hybrid ass. Honestly, they talked so much about Namekian vagina, she had no idea what do even really do with her Namekian dick when it came to sex with Trunks. 

But it wasn't just about sex. When they were fused . . . she could breathe. She could feel her ki thrumming through their body, and she could feel what it was like to have lungs that worked so much better than her own, and she wanted to feel that again. 

"So do you want to fuse, then?" she asked. 

"Okay," Trunks said, his heart beating quickly. 

They got out of the car, then did the fusion dance they had learned to fight Broly. The first thing Trunshi did was take a deep breath of air. They could practically taste the evening air. 

The feeling of Trunks so close to her - as a part of her - was electrifying, and their power and ki pumped through their veins and their whole body. 

They got back into the car, but the backseat this time, lay down, then pushed their pants down. 

The effect of the act of masturbation in their brain was explosive - both Trunks's and Tenshi's feelings on the matter sprung to mind and clashed and melted into each other. Facts about Trunks that he had kept from her until then were shared - though whether it was on purpose or accident it was unclear. This was his first sexual experience with another person, and Trunks was treated to the fact that this felt better than all of Tenshi's previous sexual experiences. Part of it was that kissing for humans who only kissed other humans and knew nothing of her biology severely lacked the tongue technique to really get her off, and it was a bit frustrating. While this - she knew exactly how she wanted it, and Trunks knew how he liked to touch himself, so the information together rolling around in their head melded together to create one hell of a hand job. 

Trunshi let loose a shout as they came, and the fusion decided it would cut out in the midst of ejaculation. 

Tenshi lay on her back, breathing hard and her nasal cannula irritating her nose. Trunks was sitting, Tenshi's legs almost straddling him, and he was a deep red as he noticed he had caught most of the ejaculation on himself. Mostly his hand, but some of it was on his sleeve. He could tell which was his and which was hers, his being white and Tenshi's a light green. 

Tenshi blushed a light purple. 

"Some got on your face somehow." 

She reached over to grab the tissue box she and Goten kept in the car, then handed it to him. They worked on cleaning him up, though there wasn't much they could do about his sleeve at that point. 

Tenshi hesitated before she wiped the ejaculation off of Trunks's cheek. 

"You kinda look hot like that." 

"Shut up," Trunks said, blushing. 

They put themselves back together, then moved to the front of the car and headed back to Capsule Corp. 

On the ride there, Trunks spoke up again. 

"Hey, if you want to, we could experiment more." 

"Oh?" Tenshi's mouth curled upward. "And how would we do that?" 

She half-hoped for an offer to fuse again, but that wasn't what he said. 

"No part of me can be in your mouth, but we could go up to my room and I could give you a blow job." 

"Well - " 

"I know you're worried about your size, but - "

"And what about your parents and grandparents?" 

"They won't notice, we'll be in my room and I can lock the door. Dad won't care enough to barge in or anything like that if nothing's wrong." 

"Hmmmm...."

"And - " The fusion they had done had been the thing to give him the information that led to this idea. "And we can use that dildo for your vag." 

Tenshi's eyebrows flew up. Now _there_ was an idea. A dildo the size of her own penis would definitely be long enough to properly pleasure a Namekian throat vagina. 

"All right, you win," she said, giving him a smirk. 

She laughed when Trunks pumped the air and said "yes!" 

Bulma just heard the two run up the stairs, but had been too engrossed in her science work to pay them any mind. Vegeta was in the GR, Mrs. Briefs was doing some needlework, and Dr. Briefs was working on a _separate_ science project. It wasn't until Vegeta left the GR an hour or so later and saw that Tenshi's car was still in the driveway that it was brought to the adults' attention that the young lady was still there. 

"Where are the boy and the girl?" Vegeta asked. 

"Hm? Trunks and Tenshi?" Mrs. Briefs asked. 

"Yes." 

"Oh, I heard them run upstairs at some point after they got back from the concert." 

"How long ago was that?" 

"Well . . . I think it was 10pm?" 

Vegeta looked at the clock. 

"Panty, it's midnight." 

"Oh my! It really is!" 

Vegeta shook his head, checked on Bulma to see what she was doing first, then went up the stairs to check on Trunks and Tenshi. 

He tested the knob and found it was locked, and soon he found out _why_ it was locked because he started to be able to hear them. He promptly turned around and went back down the stairs as Tenshi started moaning rather loudly about Trunks having a good mouth. 

"Remember your little brother needs picking up at Videl's one-night stand's house!" Vegeta shouted as he retreated to safety from teen sex in the kitchen.

"Oh, _fuck!_ " shouted Tenshi, and not in a way that indicated sexual pleasure. More like the type of "fuck" you shout when you've realized you screwed something up. 

 

After Tenshi dropped Dominion off, it had been going just fine with Pan and her dad. Diablo was a pretty decent guy. Dominion honestly couldn't see why the others didn't seem to like him very much. 

They had just been playing in the backyard to Diablo's house when it happened. Dominion ended up tripping and falling and scraping his knee. He luckily did not have his sister's clotting issues, so Pan said she'd just go grab the first aid kit and ran inside. 

Diablo came over and sat in the grass with Dominion while they waited for his daughter to return. 

"I see the way you look at her, y'know," Diablo said in that accent he had when he wasn't speaking his first language. 

"Huh?" Dominion said, not quite sure what he was saying. 

"I like you, I really do, but you know my daughter isn't going to go for a freaky little green guy like you, right?" 

Dominion abruptly stopped feeling safe in this backyard by himself with the man, and he wasn't sure why he felt that way. Tenshi . . . had warned him of that. And Diablo wasn't threatening him.... He just felt off-kilter and unsafe all of a sudden, and he wanted out of this conversation immediately. 

"Mi hija deserves a normal boy who will be able to provide for her and the family they'll have. You understand." 

Dominion didn't say anything, but he was vaguely nodding. Diablo patted Dominion on the shoulder, and Pan came back out into the backyard, all smiles and holding the first aid kit over her head. 

Dominion felt out of sorts for the entire rest of his stay with them, and he waited for Tenshi to come pick him up. But Videl came to take Pan home before Tenshi came, and he really didn't want to be at Diablo's by himself. Seeing the panic in Dominion's eyes, Videl invited him to go home with her and Pan and that she'd call Tenshi to let her know where he was. But she wasn't answering her cell phone. 

"Hey," Pan said, frowning as she tried the umpteenth time to get Dominion to play with her while they waited for Tenshi. "What's the matter?" 

He could hear Videl calling Gohan and telling him that Tenshi was late picking Dominion up and wasn't answering her cell. He didn't answer Pan. 

"Are you tired? It is pretty late. Usually I never get to stay up this late." 

"I don't sleep." Dominion said. 

"Oh yeah...." 

Pan frowned. He had been acting weird since he scraped his knee.... 

Gohan had come to pick him up, accompanied by Piccolo. Daddy had on the Scary Angry Face, and Mommy looked pretty angry, too. 

Pan hugged Dominion goodbye, and Dominion hugged her back. 

"I hope you feel better," Pan said, worried. 

"You have good dreams, okay?" Dominion said. He . . . he just wanted her to be happy. Could . . . could only a human boy make her happy? 

 

Tenshi had the foresight to check her phone for messages before driving all the way to Diablo's to find that Dominion wasn't there. So she drove to Videl's. 

"Your parents were already here to pick him up," Videl said, arms crossed and a frown on her face. 

Tenshi booked it before getting the "I'm surprised and disappointed in you" lecture that she could see what about to roll right off Videl's tongue. She had to get home as soon as possible. 

At home, the expected was there. 

"Just _what_ was so important that you had to _forget_ your little brother at _Diablo's house_ for hours after you were supposed to pick him up!? You were supposed to pick him up at 9:30! It's past midnight, young lady!" Gohan screamed, sounding more like Chichi than anyone had even heard Chichi sound like recently. 

Tenshi didn't actually get to answer the question. 

"You are _grounded_! No going anywhere without the family for _however long I decide this grounding to be_! No going out and about on a school night! And that includes dates with Trunks!" 

Tenshi sighed. "Yes, sir." 

Gohan couldn't get to sleep that night, so he just worked on what he needed graded for his classes at the college in his room, while Piccolo, Dominion, and Tenshi meditated throughout the night together. 

"Psst. Dominion." 

Dominion opened an eye to look over at Tenshi. Tenshi had her shoulders hunched and a frown on her face. 

"I'm sorry I didn't pick you up on time."

Dominion didn't say anything for a while. 

"I know it was shitty, and there's no excuse, and I just - " 

"I don't feel so good, Tenshi, so I kinda just want to meditate in peace for a while, okay?" 

Tenshi's frown deepened, now worried on top of guilty. He wasn't sick, was he? None of them had ever caught a cold or flu before, but it's possible he could have an upset stomach or something. 

She left him alone, and Dominion focused on what Diablo had said throughout his meditation, and Piccolo quietly sat there, unable to not think about what could have possibly possessed his daughter to be so irresponsible so suddenly, what was bothering his son, and the ever-looming concerns that his husband had murdered that Lucas boy.


	62. Safety Dance by Men Without Hats (Bulma)

"It sucks that you're grounded," Trunks said, pouting while talking to Tenshi on the phone and staring at his calendar. This meant he had to cancel quite a few plans he hadn't yet told her about.... Shit. 

"I kind of deserve it...." Tenshi said, hugging her arm while she talked to him on the phone. 

Goten sat across the room, looking rather irate. Despite Trunks and Tenshi not even being in the same room, it seemed his niece had the capacity to ignore him in favor of talking to her _boyfriend_. 

He felt bad feeling frustrated and jealous over it, because Trunks was his friend, but he was tired of feeling alone. He had been feeling frustrated and alone for almost four months now. 

"I mean, I wouldn't mind going on dates _with_ your family, but that would mean not being able to do whatever we wanted." 

"Yeah, which would suck." 

"Actually, sucking would be one of the things I wouldn't be able to do." 

" _Oh my God,_ you did not just make that joke." 

Trunks laughed, and Tenshi said some offhand comment about him being an idiot. Goten turned the volume up on his iPod. He couldn't actually hear what Trunks was saying, but they had been talking for an awful long time, and he was tired of hearing the same comments over and over. 

"I wonder, though...." 

"Wonder what?" Tenshi asked. 

"Well, the rule is that you have to be with your family, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"There might be a way we can get around that a bit." 

"I am not breaking Daddy's rules." 

"No, no, that won't be necessary. C'mon, it's kind of obvious when you think about it." 

"It is?" She thought about it for a moment, then went, "Oh! Yeah! Let's do that! When can you get over here?" 

"Two hours tops."

"See you then! Bye!" 

"See ya." 

They both hung up, and Tenshi went over to Goten and pulled an earbud out of his ear. Goten pouted at her. 

"You'll stop being able to hear if you keep the volume that loud," Tenshi said. 

"Whatever," Goten said, grumpy. 

"Trunks is coming over~" 

"Great," Goten said, less than enthused. 

Tenshi raised an eyebrow. 

"What's your problem?" 

Goten sighed. 

"Nothing...." 

If it wasn't obvious, then she didn't care. But it was obvious, wasn't it? Shouldn't it be? That they were ignoring him in favor of each other? When it used to be the three of them? 

Was he being too sensitive? 

In the two hours it took for Trunks to get there, Tenshi and Goten made themselves useful and did some house chores. Daddy was grading papers, Mommy was at work, Grandpa was in the backyard sparring, and Grandma was also doing chores and was thankful for the help. Dominion was doing his homework. He had been a lot like Goten these last couple days, but more sad than frustrated. But definitely lonely. But he hadn't attempted to reach out to anyone at all. Just read his books and did his homework and sometimes watched the TV. And avoided Goku when Goku decided he really needed to exercise. 

Trunks flew as quickly as possible, and when he touched down in front of the Son residence, he took a moment to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes from the flight and make sure nothing was stuck in his hair. Then he rose his fist to knock on the door, but Tenshi sensed his ki and ran to the door and flung it open. 

"Howdy, handsome," she said, letting him in. 

Trunks blushed and walked into the house. 

"Hey, Tenshi. Hey, Goten." 

"Hey," Goten said, unable to say the snide comments that were rolling around in his head. _Oh, so the Prince finally acknowledges my presence. How fan-fucking-tastic for me._ It sounded too mean, even in his head. He knew Trunks was just head over heels in love.... 

He just wished that didn't mean that he got left behind. 

As quickly as Trunks looked at him and spoke to him, he turned back to Tenshi and focused on her. 

"Do you want to try it out now?" he asked. 

Goten raised an eyebrow. 

"Try out what?" 

"We could, but do we know exactly how long we can hold it?" 

"Well, that could be something we experiment with. Probably should have a stop-watch and a pad of paper to keep track. Like a science experiment." 

"Is it a science experiment?" 

Trunks shrugged. 

"We have other motives, but yes, in a way." 

"What are you two talking about?" Goten asked. 

"Goten, do you know if we have a stop watch?" 

"N-no, we don't, but we have our phones."

"That'll work. Can you help us keep track of it?" 

"Keep track of what?" Goten said, already taking out his phone despite his confusion. 

"We're gonna fuse again!" Tenshi said, her smile widening. 

Trunks blushed a little more and looked just as giddy about the prospect. 

"Honestly we haven't been able to get enough of it, it feels _great_!" 

Goten just stared at them. 

"Wait, you've been fusing for the heck of it? When?" 

"Just the last time we had gone on a date by ourselves, but damn was it fun," Tenshi said, already moving to get into position for the fusion dance. 

"Are you sure that's okay? We don't know much about the fusion stuff...." 

"I'm sure if there was anything we weren't supposed to do, the other me and other Tenshi would've told us," Trunks said, Tenshi nodding in agreement. 

"Well . . . okay, if you're sure." He had a bad feeling about this. But he held up his phone, waiting for them to tell him when they were ready so he could start the timer. 

"You got the app up?" 

"Yeah." 

"Here goes!"

"Fu - sion - HA!" 

The bright light was blinding, but Goten already had his finger on the button, so that wasn't a problem. In a matter of moments, it was Trunshi standing before him. 

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. If they were one person, it might be less likely that they'd ignore him, right? 

Watching them stretch and crack their neck and make . . . moaning noises as they did so made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't experience the fusion technique like they did. He had felt overwhelmed and guilt-ridden because of the memories floating between him and Tenshi and regretting not having done anything about Lucas. In short, he hadn't been able to stand it. Maybe if he had done fusion before the encounter with Lucas, it would have been different.... Or maybe it was fusing with his niece that was the issue.... Or both.... 

Goten . . . spent the day following Trunshi around, keeping track of the time. But Trunshi was actually awfully quiet, seemingly having a private conversation in their head which . . . they probably were. 

Goten realized he liked this a lot less than them being two different people. 

It was kind of like watching a silent film, having to pay extra attention in order to follow movement and what was happening, or else you risked losing your focus entirely and not knowing how you got to point A to point B. Like when Goten had somehow missed the transition from laying on the couch with their eyes closed to turning on the stereo and starting a sort-of dance party. Goten didn't join in outside of swaying his body back and forth a bit. 

He pointedly turned his head away when they started . . . suggestively teasing themselves with touches that lasted a moment or two each. That was a bit uncomfortable to watch, but he had to admit he was a bit morbidly curious about how long the fusion would last and what they were like when they were fused as Trunshi. 

At some point, they abruptly excused themself and went to the bathroom. Goten was a bit curious if they did a number 2 in addition to a number 1, but he didn't feel comfortable enough to ask. 

They were in the bathroom a long time, it seemed, and a small shout came in from inside. 

"You okay?" Goten asked. 

"Y-yeah!" Tenshi said, her voice alone. "Stop the timer!" 

Goten did as asked, but found that he was still waiting a while. What were they doing in there? 

When they came out, Goten found his eyes drawn to a speck of light green gunk on Trunks's jawline, then immediately decided he _did not want to know_. A shiver crawled up his back as he pretended he hadn't noticed the evidence. 

"You guys were fused for almost a full hour. Does that sound normal to you two or . . . ?" 

"Hm. Depends, how long was the fight with Broly?" Tenshi asked. 

"Uhhhhhh," both Trunks and Goten said, then shrugged. 

"No idea," said Trunks. 

"And the last time?" 

Trunks shrugged again. 

"Wasn't paying attention. But it couldn't've been more than twenty, maybe thirty minutes?" 

"Though maybe we could stay fused longer if we didn't break our concentration." 

"True," Trunks said, blushing. "It's worth a shot." 

Goten was narrowing his eyes at them. Why were they making it harder to ignore the fact that they had totally had some kind of sex in the bathroom? Ewwww, Goten used that bathroom, too! 

As soon as he thought it, he felt like he was being immature and childish about it, but seriously, sex was really gross. He hated the idea of it, and he couldn't say he was envious of Trunks or Tenshi. He didn't want a boyfriend or girlfriend. He didn't want a romantic relationship. 

He just wanted his only friends to pay attention to him. And this . . . wasn't paying attention, it was using him as a stop watch. 

"Well, if you two want, you can keep practicing. I'm gonna hole up in my room." 

Goten ditched them and did just that. 

"Goten?" Trunks asked, but Goten closed the door behind him and neither of them tried to follow him. 

The fluctuations of ki eventually caught Gohan's attention (he could sometimes be super engrossed in his grading), and Gohan eventually discovered Trunks's and Tenshi's "fusion party." While not sure what they were doing, being unaware of the sexual activity they were getting up to, he had no objections to it. They were following the rules regarding the grounding, after all. 

"Just don't wear yourselves out, okay?" Gohan said. "And if Dad tries to get you to spar, tell him no, I don't want either of you to over-exert yourselves, and the fusion technique does take a lot out of you, doesn't it?" 

"We'll be careful, Daddy Gohan!" Trunshi responded.

What was just an experiment for the day didn't stay that way. It took about half a month longer for Tenshi not to be grounded, and Trunks kept coming over to the Son household. Piccolo and Gohan both came home to find Trunshi either watching TV with Dominion or sparring with Goku. While Goten wasn't actively timing it anymore, the few times he would emerge from his bedroom to get food and see what they were doing now (and if they had noticed he wasn't with them any longer) he noticed that they were stayed fused together longer and longer the more often they did it. 

When Tenshi's punishment ended, she started going over to Trunks's more than staying at home and waiting for him to come to her, often leaving both Dominion and Goten at home. 

Vegeta and Bulma had been entirely unaware of their fusion habit until Tenshi burst into the kitchen, threw herself at Trunks, and they spun around a few times and then the bright light happened and there Trunshi was, hugging themself. 

Vegeta choked on what he had been eating, and Bulma's spoon dropped from her hand and onto her plate, splattering bits of food across the table. 

"You okay, Daddy Vegeta?" Trunshi asked, both voices speaking in unison, as usual. 

When he no longer had his airway obstructed, Vegeta spoke, "You didn't do the fusion dance." 

"Oh? Yeah, I guess you're right." 

Trunshi just shrugged, then grabbed an apple and took it with them as they hopped outside and didn't return for hours. 

Vegeta tried to go after them, but Trunshi was faster and stronger than him, so soon he realized there was no point in going after them. 

Bulma called the Sons and got Gohan on the line. 

"Trunks and Tenshi just fused right in front of me - " 

"Yeah, they've been doing that a lot - " 

" _Don't interrupt me, they didn't do the fusion dance to do it!_ " 

That startled Gohan. 

" _What_?" 

"Is that normal?" 

"I - I dunno! Who - who can we even ask about that?" 

"I have a way to contact the Trunks from the future, but he might not know either. There's only one way to find out, though." 

"And he might know who would know. I'll see if Dad happens to know anything, too." 

"All right, I'll call you when I get some info." 

"Right. I'll do the same." 

She and Gohan both hung up, and Bulma ran to the Trans-Dimensional Delivery System. She sent in a letter (since it didn't work like a phone) and waited for Future Trunks to get back with her. 

Vegeta stood outside, waiting for Trunshi to return. He had a bad feeling about this, though he couldn't articulate why exactly. It just . . . didn't seem right or normal. How long had they been doing that, fusing without the dance? That shouldn't be possible.... 

Meanwhile, Gohan hurried to Goku, interrupting Goku's training. 

"Dad!" 

Goku paused, startled by the urgency in Gohan's voice. 

"What is it? What happened?" 

"Do you know who we can talk to about the fusion technique!?" 

"Uh.... If we can't get into contact with the other Trunks and Tenshi, then maybe we can ask King Kai." 

"Really!?" 

Goku nodded. "Want me to try to contact him for you?" 

"Yes!" 

Gohan stayed near Goku, worry etched onto his face. Goku thought really hard, trying to re-establish his mental connection with King Kai. 

"King Kai? Are you there? It's me, Goku!" 

"Ah, Goku! Pleasure to hear from you again! What's up?" 

"My son Gohan has something to ask you about the fusion technique. Do you know anything about it?" 

"Well, I know a little. The Metamoran planet isn't really in my quadrant, but I know that's where the technique originated from. I'll put them on the line and translate for you." 

"Thanks, King Kai!" 

They waited to hear another voice on the mental link line. Gohan clung to Goku's gi, worried about his daughter. They started to hear a language they couldn't understand. 

"Here they are!" said King Kai. "Now what seems to be the problem?" 

"Tenshi and Trunks learned the fusion technique, but now they're fusing without having to do the dance. Is that expected or something to be worried about?" Gohan said. 

"Did you get that, King Kai?" Goku said. 

"Yes, I did, give me a moment." He then translated Gohan's question, and they waited for King Kai to translate their answer back to them. "They say that there are actually many, many different ways to fuse, and that it's possible they've just created their own fusion technique. The bigger question is do they have control over their own fusion. If they are fusing without rhyme or reason or even the desire to be fused, then severe measures will need to be taken in order to restore order in their lives. The act of fusing can also be addictive in some cases and is discouraged if two people are too close to each other emotionally, such as lovers or family members, unless they are experts at self-control." 

Goku's and Gohan's eyes widened. 

"Uh oh," Goku said. 

"But Trunks and Tenshi are dating! And they're teenagers!" Gohan said, starting to freak out. "What happens if no one intervenes? And how do we intervene?" 

"Calm down, I'm going to find out." 

"Don't tell me to calm - !"

"Gohan...." 

Goku put his hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan looked at Goku. 

"I know you're worried, but you have to let King Kai tell you the answer first. Okay? We'll figure this out and get everything back to normal, okay?" 

Gohan nodded, but his body was shaking a little. 

"All right, here's the deal. If no one intervenes, Trunks and Tenshi will just cease to be separate people after a certain point. When that certain point is, there's no real telling. But eventually they'll just never de-fuse, so Trunshi will be who they are for the rest of their lives. Now, the main issue with that is that Namekians and Saiyans have different lifespans and the fusion, while assimilating many physical attributes, does not negate the natural lifespans that they had individually. Even with Tenshi's breathing problems, she will still outlive you and your children and Vegeta and his children, Goku. At some point, the parts that are Trunks of Trunshi will die first, leaving the remaining years of Tenshi's life to be unhealthy and difficult. Not to mention the grief that would come from losing a part of themself like that. It would be like forever having your dead brother attached to your back and being unable to remove him, even though his corpse is starting to suck the life out of you. It's not a pleasant death." 

Gohan's grip on Goku tightened, and Goku was at a loss of words that could possibly comfort him. 

"Then we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen," Goku said. 

"The best way to prevent it is to limit their fusions and make sure they understand the consequences of abusing the technique. The best way to force a defusion is to break their concentration on sticking together, since they've evolved their fusion technique past time limits. Get them to heatedly disagree on something. The less they think as one, the more unstable the fusion will become and the more likely they will defuse." King Kai added. 

"Thanks, King Kai. We'll do what we can," Goku said. 

"No problem. Let me know how it all turns out, all right?" 

"Sure." 

Goku cut the mental link, then focused on Gohan. 

"Do you know where they went?" 

Gohan shook his head. 

"She just said she was going to Trunks's, if they're not there, I have no idea." 

"Well, their ki signal is weird, but it's findable. You call Bulma, tell her what we found out, and I'll go find them." 

Gohan nodded, then turned to hurry to the phone. 

Unaware of the issues with the fusion technique, Chichi had taken Goten and Dominion with her while she ran her errands a couple hours ago. They were walking around town doing shopping, Dominion carrying the new school books and Chichi looking at her list of things they needed. She stopped when she noticed that Goten was not right behind her, then she looked over her shoulder to see Goten staring at an electic guitar in a store window. 

Goten realized she had caught him looking at it, then hurried to get back to her side. 

"Sorry," he said, adjusting the bags he was carrying and walking ahead. 

Chichi looked back at the electric guitar. She had noticed that Goten was feeling rather depressed of late, what with Tenshi and Trunks spending so much time together and having completely dropped the card game hobby he had had. (She hadn't realized the card game hobby had been the least bit connected to the incident with Lucas.) All he had been doing lately was sparring with Goku or holing himself up in his room and listening to that music she didn't like. But he liked it, and while she could already envision the headaches.... 

His birthday was coming up soon. 

When Chichi, Goten, and Dominion got home, Gohan and Goku were no where to be found. They had gone to Capsule Corp after Goku located Trunshi and sat the fusion warrior down for a talk. 

Trunshi didn't seem to be listening too much to their talk if their lack of reaction was any indication. 

"All right, we'll defuse if it'll make you happy," Trunshi said. The bright light appeared, and there sat Trunks and Tenshi. But they still spoke the next part in unison. "But I don't see what the big deal is, we have plenty of control over the fusion technique. So it's evolving, what's the big deal?" 

Gohan sat beside his daughter, conveniently (for Gohan) pushing Trunks further away from her. Trunks pouted. 

"I'm just worried about you, sweetheart. King Kai said you could get stuck like that, and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my baby." 

Gohan gently caressed the top of Tenshi's head, and Tenshi smiled a little. 

"Dad, you're embarrassing me," she said, but there wasn't much heart in the complaint. 

"That's my job." 

Gohan hugged his daughter tightly, feeling more relieved about the issue. Tenshi hugged him back. 

Vegeta wasn't going to say it out loud at all, but he was realizing his feeling about the fusion technique evolving was out of a very similar fear. He didn't want to not have his son anymore. Having him as a part of a new warrior wasn't the same. Trunks was his offspring, not Tenshi, and it would be like losing him. 

"I think a new rule about no fusions unless absolutely necessary is in order," Vegeta said. 

Both Trunks and Tenshi groaned in protest, but Goku chimed in. 

"Vegeta's right, the risk is too great. No more fusing unless there's an actual threat." 

Both sighed heavily. 

"All right...." 

Goku then smiled. 

"That solves that then!" 

Gohan felt an appreciation for Goku that he honestly hadn't felt in a long while. He had . . . missed it. He missed feeling like his dad wanted to be there and actually cared. It felt good to feel that way again, and he hoped that feeling stayed a long time. 

Gohan, Goku, and Tenshi went home afterwards, Tenshi doing so reluctantly. When they got home, they filled the others in on the new fusion rule. Piccolo was conflicted on how to feel; on the one hand, the issue was solved, on the other, he still felt worried and scared, much like Gohan had felt, and now no longer had an easy way to have those fears soothed. Though he supposed the complications with the fusion technique made sense, what with how he had permanently fused with Nail and Kami. He liked his daughter the way she was, though, and he didn't want her to change that way. 

Goten, while glad that they wouldn't be dying or anything any time soon, knew this didn't really change any of the problems he was having with Trunks and Tenshi, but he hid his ever increasing frustration and disappointment during dinner. Only to hole up in his room again afterwards. Chichi started researching electric guitars and how much they went for and what was a good deal for Goten's birthday.


	63. 'Til The World Ends by Britney Spears (Trunks)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has consensual sex in it.

"Goten, just fyi, Tenshi and Trunks are only allowed to fuse in emergencies, so if you're there and they try to do it again, don't let them, okay?" Gohan said when he had a moment to talk to him. 

It had been actually rather difficult to catch his little brother outside of his bedroom. So Gohan just poked his head into Goten's room. The lights were either off or dimmed, with the majority of the light coming in through the window. The sun was beginning to set, so it wasn't even that much light from there. 

Goten took his earbud out of his ear. 

"What?" 

Gohan sighed. 

"Tenshi and Trunks are no longer allowed to fuse unless it's an emergency. So don't let them do it if you're around to stop them, okay?" 

"Uh, okay. Did something happen?" 

Gohan gave a smile, but it was one of his worried ones. 

"The fusion technique just isn't all that safe, and Vegeta, Dad, and I agreed it was best if it's only in emergencies and not . . . not as a recreational activity." 

Goten always felt bad for him when Gohan got that look on his face. He couldn't relate, but Gohan had a lot of different fears. He worked through it for the most part, but he knew that sometimes, either due to anger or fear, he actually stayed up with Piccolo quite a bit and couldn't sleep. 

"Yeah, I can keep them from fusing. No problem." 

Gohan sighed with a bit of relief, and Goten couldn't help but wonder just how much tension one's shoulders could hold and release. 

"Thanks." 

Life kept going, with Piccolo and Gohan going to work, Chichi working in her office at home and looking at electric guitars for Goten in her spare time, Dominion studying, and Goku sparring in the backyard or front yard and occasionally disappearing for a few hours, sometimes bringing home food he hunted. Summer break was starting for Goten, Trunks, and Tenshi, and Goten . . . wasn't quite sure why he chose this to be his summer activity. 

He took off all but his boxers, then dove into the water. He wasn't in the mountains, and if it wasn't for his ability to fly, this kind of traveling would have taken forever. But he dived into the water and searched for it. On top of his clothes lay the Dragon Radar Bulma had let him borrow. The six months that Dende's Dragon Balls needed to regenerate were finished, and Goten . . . didn't really know why he was searching for them. Bulma just said that it would be a good idea for them to know where they all were and to keep them close by in case they needed them, but she had said that in response to his desire to find them. He himself didn't have any specific wish in mind. 

He wanted Trunks and Tenshi to pay attention to him again. But if the Eternal Dragon couldn't give Gohan his arm back, what made Goten think that the Dragon could make Tenshi and Trunks change? He didn't seem to be able to do anything against someone's will, which had its perks certainly, because there were evil people in the world, but.... 

As the thought occurred to him, it triggered the memory of Lucas grabbing Tenshi and pulling her closer to him, and Goten had to come up for air, coughing hard. 

_Dammit._

He swam to the lake bank and took a few moments to collect himself. Thinking about the ordeal made him sick to his stomach and created new waves of guilt for just _standing there_ and then the memories of the news reports about Lucas's brutal death somehow didn't make him feel any better. And the idea that it _should_ or _could_ make him feel better felt really gross. 

When he pulled himself together, he dived deeper into the water. He soon found the Dragon Ball. 

It took him two days, but he found all the Dragon Balls and took them home and hid them in his room. 

He emerged from his room the next morning, yawning and stretching only to come face-to-face with Trunks and Tenshi leaning against the wall outside his room, making out. 

She must've been wearing her birth control. Goten didn't question it. 

"The fuck, you two?" Goten groaned as he made his way past them to downstairs. 

He soon found that he, Trunks, and Tenshi were the only ones home. Chichi had left a note for them, reminding them about the chores that needed to be done and things like that. There was no telling where Goku was, while Gohan and Piccolo both had the day off and were spending it with Dominion, Pan, and Videl. Good for them, it had been too long since they had seen them. 

Goten fed himself and made some coffee. He needed it that morning, ugh. It was only after he woke up a bit more did a horrifying realization occur to him, and he hurried up the stairs. 

Only to find his bedroom door locked. 

He pressed his ear to the door and heard noises that he didn't appreciate coming from _his_ bedroom. 

"What the fuck! _Tenshi!_!" 

How could they be _this_ horny this early in the - !? 

He turned his head and saw the clock on the wall and realized he had slept in later than he thought he had. Well. Still. Did it have to be in his room!? 

The idea of their fluids on his sheets really grossed him out. He almost felt like he might puke up what he had just eaten. He tried not to think about it. 

With the sounds of Trunks moaning in his bedroom, Goten was so glad his iPod was on the kitchen table. He grabbed it and stuffed the earbuds into his ears, then played Blink-182 on it and turned up the volume. It successfully drowned out the noises, and Goten perched himself on the back of the couch, waiting for them to come out. 

Now, Tenshi's reasoning for using Goten's room was that she didn't have her own room. She didn't sleep and meditated with Piccolo and Dominion every night while the others slept. But any time she needed to use a space, it was either the education room or Goten's bedroom. It would've been more wrong to fuck Trunks in a public area of the house or just randomly in the hallway where anyone could see if they came home early. In her haze of arousal, Goten's room sounded like the best option. 

Both Tenshi and Trunks were hungry for being close to each other, as close to each other as they could be. Without fusion, the best way to do it was to have their bodies be as close together as possible, pressing up against each other. Proximity led to kissing and rubbing and grinding, and Trunks was eager to feel Tenshi's hard cock inside of him for the first time. All they were thinking about was the other. How Goten would feel about his room being commandeered didn't enter their heads at all. 

The desire to be as close as possible, combined with getting themselves this horny, led to Tenshi completely forgetting about the birth control. She didn't remember it as Trunks's tongue explored her mouth and managed to reach her vaginal hole and stimulate it. She didn't remember as she aggressively grinded her hips against Trunks's, and she didn't remember when the kiss was broken and Trunks breathlessly asked her to fuck him in the ass. She didn't remember as she trailed hickies along the back of Trunks's neck and shoulders, tongue lapping up his sweat as she went. 

They had no Namekian birth control, and they had no condoms, and it was not well thought out or safe. 

Consequences were unavoidable and imminent. But neither of them thought about it nor did they care in those moments. All they cared about was position and how deep and fast and how they could keep kissing because _damn_ did Trunks's tongue feel good penetrating her mouth hole. 

Goten unfortunately could hear it despite his music in his earbuds when Tenshi ejaculated hard inside of Trunks, both Tenshi and Trunks moaning loudly. Tenshi continued to thrust as she ejaculated, having fun watching Trunks's face as she did so and listening to him make noises. From the many blowjobs he had given her, they both knew she had a lot of fluid to unload, making him very wet. (Tenshi had asked Dende about that once, and his response was "it's an evolved trait to increase likelihood of egg fertilization; we Namekians weren't always as fertile as we are now, and high ejaculation volume in our species also leads to multiple egg fertilizations, so instead of one egg at a time like you and Dominion, it might be five or seven at a time.") 

When Tenshi pulled out, she flopped onto the bed next to Trunks and wrapped him up in her arms, and Trunks did so in return. 

Then, without any conscious decision to, they fused. 

Goten was suspicious of the spike in their ki, but it was possible it was because of the . . . climax. He guessed. 

But when they finally emerged from his room as Trunshi, Goten's frustration with them quickly bubbled into anger. 

"What the fuck!? Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you two!?" 

Goten ripped the earbuds out of his ears as he shouted and bounded up the stairs. Trunshi just stared at him, having an expression on their face that showed they weren't entirely sure what was happening right now. But Goten didn't care and didn't let himself pick up on the small details like that. That Trunshi was confused as to why they had fused. 

"You don't just _take someone else's room to fuck_ and Gohan _told you two you weren't to fuse anymore_! You're seriously going to invoke _Gohan's_ wrath! Gohan's gonna _kill both of you_!" 

Trunshi just rubbed the back of their neck, and that just pissed Goten off more. 

"UGH!" 

He stormed into his room, took in what his sheets looked like, said a chorus of "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!" over and over. 

"Uh, hey, we could clean up for - " Trunshi started, feeling out of sorts, but Goten cut them off. 

"No! Just stay out of my room!" 

Goten gathered up the sheets, then grabbed the box he hid the Dragon Balls in and carried both things out of his bedroom. He threw the sheets into the laundry machine, put in the laundry soap, then turned the machine on. Then he took the Dragon Balls and flew a ways away from the house. 

Trunshi stayed behind, hugging their arms and a flurry of different concerns rolling around in their head. Now that the arousal and obsession with being closer and closer to the other was gone, the flaws in their decisions up to this point caught up with them, and they felt bad about doing that to Goten. 

They still didn't remember Tenshi's birth control. 

Goten reached a spot where he felt like he could do this, and he set out the Dragon Balls and summoned the Dragon. 

It wasn't until he had Shenron in front of him that he wondered exactly what he wanted. 

"State your wish." 

Goten licked his lips, chewing on his lower lip for a moment. 

"I wish - !" He hesitated. That they weren't dating? That they couldn't have sex in his bedroom? That they'd pay attention to him? He could see any of those going wrong and being things that he would regret wishing. "I wish that Trunks and Tenshi wouldn't fuse anymore!" 

Shenron's eyes glowed, and Goten couldn't think of any reason why that would be a bad wish. 

"Your wish is granted," Shenron said. "Do you have another wish?" 

Goten shook his head. "No, I don't." 

"In that case, goodbye," Shenron said, and the Dragon Balls vanished for another three months. 

Goten came home to find Trunks and Tenshi separated, looking increasingly confused from when he left them. 

"Are you two okay?" Goten asked, what he did catching up with him and he wondered if it had really been the right thing to do. It typically wasn't good to act when angry like that. 

"I . . . I think so," Tenshi said. "I just feel really weird and not sure how we fused in the first place or why we de-fused so suddenly." 

"I feel really weird, too," Trunks said, holding himself. "M-maybe I should go home now...." 

"Maybe...." Tenshi said. "You good to fly or . . . ?" 

"I think so...." 

Trunks then left, and it was just Goten and Tenshi. And things, for Goten, started to go back to the way they were before Tenshi and Trunks started dating. 

Tenshi paid attention to him. She talked to him more. It was the start of exactly what Goten wanted. 

For a while it would be, anyway.


	64. Gasoline by Halsey (Tenshi, Piccolo)

Tenshi had been simply chilling on the couch with Dominion and Goten when it happened. They were just watching the television, two days without seeing Trunks being a new record for the going-steady couple. Tenshi hadn't quite noticed it, and neither did Dominion and Goten, but Tenshi had started scratching at her skin a lot when not actively moving around. So sitting and meditating, she couldn't help but to scratch at her skin and it would sometimes bleed and she'd have to cut off the bleeding before anyone noticed. Or rather, before Daddy and Mommy noticed. 

But the scratching was not the issue this evening on the couch. 

No, Tenshi realized that _something_ was coming up whether she wanted it to come up or not. She hurried to the bathroom, making a quick grunt of an excuse, and then locked the door behind her. 

She hunched over the sink, the beginning of a hack bubbling up in her throat, but quickly cut off by a large _something_ pushing up, up, up her throat. 

It cut off her windpine, and genuine terror filled her as she realized she couldn't breathe. 

She beat on her chest, hoping that that would help, and she leaned over the sink as much as possible, not even caring if what she thought was coming up broke on the sink or counter in front of her. She was _not_ dying in this bathroom, _she was not_ \- ! 

She couldn't be sure how long it took, but she at least didn't die. 

She coughed heavily after it finally dislodged and banged around in the basin. It was covered in mucus and saliva, light green, giving the purple shell a sickening tint. 

"Are you okay?" Dominion asked, his voice close to the door. 

She tried to catch her breath. 

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," she said, barely able to talk. 

She could practically hear the frown in Dominion's voice. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes," Tenshi said, her voice coming back. "I'm okay, really." 

She didn't think he was convinced, but he left her alone. She could hear his retreating footsteps. 

She stared at the egg, panicking on the inside. _Oh shit._ What was she going to do? 

She hid it under the sink in the cabinet, praying no one would notice it. 

She ended up keeping an eye on the bathroom door, tensing whenever anyone would go in there, especially when it was Daddy. But somehow, no one ever looked under the sink for any reason. Tenshi made sure she kept the bathroom clean, so that no one would need the cleaning supplies underneath the sink. 

She snuck it into a backpack on the weekend, then headed to the car, trying not to get noticed. 

"Tenshi?" 

She froze and looked over, seeing Mommy in the doorway. 

"Where are you going?" he asked. 

"Just - I - I need to see Dende about . . . something." 

Piccolo furrowed his brow. 

"Are you feeling ill?" 

"Something like that." 

She was starting to scratch at her arm again. Piccolo frowned as her sleeve pushed up and revealed bandages. 

"When did that happen?" 

Piccolo came closer to her, and Tenshi bowed her head. 

"It's nothing, I have it taken care of, Mommy. I just need to talk to Dende alone, okay?" 

Piccolo frowned, but he nodded. 

"You can talk to him alone, but may I go with you? Just in case you need me?" 

Tenshi hesitated, not wanting Piccolo to find out about the egg. But . . . . 

"Okay. But don't tell Daddy, no matter what, okay?" 

Piccolo frowned, but he nodded. 

He had felt something was off with her, ever since he came home and she had felt rather ill and off-kilter a few days ago. He didn't know what happened that day. All Goten had said was that both she and Trunks weren't feeling so good. Gohan had chalked it up to Trunks giving her some kind of stomach bug what with all the touching and other couple stuff. 

He had a feeling that wasn't accurate. 

Since Piccolo was there, they flew, with Tenshi being carried, instead of taking her car. So they arrived a lot sooner than they would've by car. 

"Piccolo! Tenshi! This is a surprise. Is something the matter?" Dende asked as he came out to greet them, Mr. Popo trailing behind him. 

"It's been a long time since we've seen you," Mr. Popo said. And it had. Neither of them had seen them since Tenshi's last incident with bruises and cuts, and that had been a while ago. Ever since she and Trunks learned that fusion technique, she had been needing to see Dende less and less. 

"Yeah. Um, can you and I talk in private, Dende?" Tenshi asked. 

"Sure." 

They went into the building on the Lookout, and Piccolo stood with Mr. Popo, mouth worried and brow furrowed. 

"You're afraid for her," Mr. Popo stated, recognizing some of the facial expression as something that Kami would do. 

"Yes. She has bandages on her arms I hadn't known were there, and she's been increasingly secretive and skittish these past few days. It seems to have started after the no-fusion rule we laid down." 

"No fusion?" 

"The fusion technique is dangerous, apparently. They ran the risk of losing themselves in each other." 

"Oh my. That's not good. But something's going wrong anyway?" 

"I . . . don't know. She hasn't been herself." 

Meanwhile, Tenshi showed Dende the egg, and he had a sense of dejá-vu. He remembered Piccolo showing him the egg and coming to him in a panic. 

"I'm assuming it's yours?" 

Tenshi nodded. 

"Have you told your parents?" 

"No." 

Dende took the egg into his hands, then he started to frown. 

"That's odd. I feel no life energy coming from it. How long ago did you spit it out?" 

"Two days ago. It's been four days since it was conceived." She had known exactly how it had happened, since that was when she last saw Trunks. She had only remembered she had failed to use her birth control after she had vomited the egg up. 

Dende frowned. 

"Can . . . I hold onto this for a while? A week at most. Just to make sure." 

"Make sure? Make sure about what?" 

Dende didn't want to be the bearer of this news. He had thought he'd never have to give it because this was so rare for Namekians. They had evolved into one of the most fertile species in the universe. They could regenerate and reproduce at alarming rates. Frieza's ability to almost wipe them out was utterly unheard of until it had happened, but they had replenished their numbers so easily with their evolutionary advantages. 

This was news he had been told growing up and in training as a medic that he would probably never, ever give to another Namekian. 

"I don't think this egg has a living thing inside. I will need to double-check, but . . . the likelihood that it'll hatch is very slim." 

". . . Then why did I hack it up? I almost choked to death on it...." 

"Were you alone when it happened?" 

"In the bathroom alone, yeah. Dominion and Goten were in the other room, I didn't tell them about it...." 

"That was really dangerous, Tenshi...." 

"I know...." 

He frowned deeper. 

"You should take better care of yourself. Even if you don't want to tell people news like that, your health and life are more important than anything else." 

"Yes, Dende...." 

"As for why you had it come up in the first place . . . the only explanation I have is that your body recognized that there was foreign DNA and went through the process of fertilization, but it didn't take. But your body didn't recognize that, so it created the egg. But unless I'm wrong, there's nothing in it. But I'll need to be sure before we . . . dispose of it." 

Tenshi swallowed hard, and he could see her body shaking slightly. He reached out to touch her, comfort her. 

"It's . . . very possible you can't have children." 

". . . Like how a zedonk and a liger can't reproduce. Right?" 

"Right...." 

He knew she was so young to even have the topic of children even come up, but he could see that hearing that it was completely a non-option was hurtful, even if she hadn't thought about it or hadn't wanted them. 

"I'm sorry." 

"You'll know for sure in a week?" 

"Yes." 

"Okay." 

She rubbed at her face, eyes welling up. Then Dende saw the bandages. 

"Would you like me to heal those up for you?" 

"Sure." 

She undid the bandages, which caused the scratches to bleed anew as soon as she took the bandages off. Dende took care of it easily. But he knew he couldn't heal her emotional pain. Sometimes Dende felt like a very useless god. 

"Don't let yourself suffer in silence. Tell at least your family, all right?" 

Tenshi nodded. 

The two came back out, and Tenshi went over to Piccolo and hugged him without a word. Piccolo hugged her in return. 

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked. 

Tenshi started to cry, and Piccolo gently petted the top of her head. 

She told him and Dende and Mr. Popo about how the fusion with Trunks made her feel (powerful, strong, _able to breathe_ ), how she didn't want to let it go ever, about the unprotected sex, about the accidental fusion, about the sudden involuntary de-fusion, and how badly it all felt, emotionally. 

"And I don't want Daddy to know 'cause he had that rule, but it wasn't on purpose, and I can't tell Trunks about a baby we can't even have, and I don't know what to do because everything hurts now - !" 

"We'll figure it out, darling. I'll be right here, helping you, like I always have been. You don't have to go through any of this alone." 

Tenshi clung to Piccolo tightly, grateful to have her mommy. 

When they went home, Goku asked if they wanted to spar. Tenshi took Goku up on the offer, and Piccolo joined in. It would do Tenshi well to get her mind off it for a while. 

They would have to tell Gohan, but he would be there to help her. And it didn't have to be right now. 

As long as Tenshi was moving, the urge to scratch was not there. As long as she was moving, be it walking or fighting, she didn't need to scratch. 

Her body felt heavy, like she was carrying extra weight. She chalked it up to her emotional state. 

It wasn't her emotional state.


	65. Pound the Alarm by Nicki Minaj (Trunks)

Trunks lay curled up in his bed, with no knowledge of what Tenshi was going through with the egg that wouldn't hatch. He rocked back and forth, laying on his side, wrapped in as many blankets as he could manage. 

He couldn't sleep, hadn't been able to sleep since he left the Sons'. He kept feeling . . . kept feeling . . . . 

He wasn't sure he could explain it well. 

He played all the Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Lil John, Drake, and other hip hop, rap, and pop artists on his iPod, trying to . . . to fill this weird void he found himself in. 

He left many texts on Tenshi's cell, but they all were left unanswered. It was driving him crazy. He didn't know that her phone sat completely untouched on the coffee table in the living room, low on battery and routinely ignored every time Tenshi heard the ping of the text message alert. She hadn't even bothered to look at who sent it, but Trunks didn't know that. All he knew was that she wasn't answering. 

When he'd text Goten, all he heard from him was that Tenshi was getting really intense with her training, training almost as much as Goku was. 

"We're still coming over for that party you said you'd throw her for her birthday, if that's still happening, that is." 

"Yeah, of course it is." 

And it was. But if Trunks hadn't had everything already planned, he wouldn't have been able to focus on any of it. Bulma ended up pulling the last of the strings to pull it all together. She was worried about him. 

So was Vegeta. 

He felt cold, too cold. 

He was bundling up, even though it was summer out. Grandpa's first reaction was "is he on drugs?" Trunks consented to tests, and nothing came up positive. Though he knew it wouldn't. 

Thermometers and blood pressure tests came up all normal. As far as science could tell, there was nothing physically wrong with him. 

He felt wrong, though. 

He spent more time with Bra, though he held her tightly a lot more than Bra was used to. 

"Trunks? Are you sick?" Bra asked after a while. 

"Dunno...." 

"Do hugs make it better?" 

"A little." 

Bra smiled at him. 

"Then let's have all the hugs ever!" 

Bra honestly liked being carried and held, though she was reaching an age where she made a big deal about being old enough to walk around by herself. She was making this exception for Trunks's sake, she insisted. 

Trunks just had never been this cuddly and affectionate and . . . sad before, and it was making Vegeta and Bulma uneasy. 

In the week leading up to Tenshi's birthday party, Bulma sat Trunks down next to her. Trunks fought the urge to lean into her. Bulma put her hand on his shoulder. 

"Honey, I've been worried about you.... You've been so sad and acting so out of character lately.... Did something happen?" 

Trunks hesitated, but he found that he couldn't keep quiet about it anymore. 

"I - I dunno what happened. Tenshi and I - " He paused, trying to find the right words. Bulma's other hand, the one in her lap, gripped the fabric of her skirt, not liking the sound of the beginning of that sentence. "Tenshi and I were doing so good, and - and maybe things were going a little fast, but I had thought we were really ready and I'd never do anything she didn't want to do and - and maybe it was a bad decision but - " 

"Trunks, what are you talking about?" 

Trunks stopped, trying to string it all together right. He took a deep breath and relented to his own urges as he leaned into his mother, tucking his head down so it could rest on her upper chest. Bulma wrapped her arms around him, remembering the days of his toddler-hood when he wasn't too prideful to be held by his mother like this. That was how long ago this was. 

"I don't know how, but we fused without meaning to, and then we de-fused without any control over it, and ever since then, I've felt so _weird_. So - so - " The word finally occurred to him as he spilled his guts out. " _Empty._ Like a part of me is missing, and I don't understand it. And I don't know if it's from the weird thing with the fusion or - " 

He faltered, turning red in the face. 

"Or what, honey?" 

"P-part of me is wondering - it doesn't explain the trouble staying warm but - well - _fuck_ \- " 

"Trunks, what is - ?" 

"Tenshi-and-I-did-anal," Trunks spat out quickly, as though saying it faster would make it less embarrassing. "Without protection. And I just - I don't know - !" 

Bulma's eyes were rather wide. That was not something she ever expected to hear. She was also getting some mental images she had _never_ wanted because there was really only one way for them to do that. Her chest was blossoming with overprotective parent anger. 

She took a deep breath, tempering it. 

"Now Trunks, tell me with - only - the necessary details, what exactly happened. I'm having trouble figuring out how any of that all has to do with each other." 

So Trunks explained. They fucked, they fused, Goten got angry and ran off, they couldn't figure out what to do, they de-fused without warning, and here he was. (Trunks left out the details regarding the sex, though the details of how her cock felt inside him and all that ejaculation filling him contributed to his hypothesis that the sex might be to blame.) 

Bulma took note of what he said, then started getting that genius brain into gear. 

"Well, we truly don't know much about the fusion technique. But it's possible that the sudden fusion and de-fusion did something, but I'm not sure what the solution would be. We can try to see if it'll fade away on its own. Before we think it's the fusion technique, though, we should see if Tenshi is affected in any kind of similar way. Odd behaviors, struggling with body temperature, stuff like that. Has she talked to you about any of that?" 

Trunks shook his head. 

"No. She hasn't talked to me at all, even though I've left phone messages and texts...." 

That made Bulma frown deeply, and her mama bear urges were bubbling up again. 

Bulma was no prude, but the words 'unprotected anal sex' brought up images of newspaper clippings talking about AIDS and HIV. Despite knowing that the Namekians were some of the healthiest people she had ever met, there was no guarantee, and as a hybrid it was still possible that Tenshi could be a carrier for things, even if Bulma didn't actually think it was something like AIDS or HIV. And Tenshi had made out with all those random boys.

Hell, the more she thought about it.... 

"I'd honestly say that it has nothing to do with the fusion and you actually _are_ sick and will hopefully get better soon. Mixed with maybe some typical teenager depression with your girlfriend not calling you back. While she might not be sick, it's possible she's a carrier for something and you caught it when you two had unprotected sex." 

"Carrier? For what?" 

"I don't know, there's no telling what germs are out in those mountains, and she's not exactly the healthiest girl." 

"She's healthy, just doesn't have much lung capacity...." 

Bulma just patted Trunks on the back. 

"Tell you what, I'll make sure the party goes just fine, and you focus on getting better. Right now, all the facts point to you being _sick_ and needing your rest. Okay?" 

She ruffled his hair, and he sat up better. 

"Okay...." 

Bulma sent Trunks right back up to bed. She put her hands on her hips, and Vegeta stepped into the room, having heard everything. 

"You really think he's sick?" Vegeta asked. 

Bulma sighed. " _Yes_ , it makes the most sense. Though I won't rule out something having gone wrong with the fusion thing. But there's no way to really check for that, is there? Having them fuse again is too dangerous, isn't it?" 

"I would think so, perhaps," Vegeta said. He gritted his teeth. "Damn!" 

"You don't think he's just sick?" 

"No, I fear the fusion technique has already gotten out of control for them." 

"If it's fully out of control, then what was stopping them from fusing _during_ sex or _before_? I bet they're just so used to fusing when they hold each other that they were just spooning and did it on accident and their discomfort with Goten being angry is what made them defuse. I mean, why not? This other stuff? It's fully plausible that it's relationship issues taking a bigger toll that any of us were prepared for." 

Vegeta snorted. 

"You just want an excuse to slap the girl, don't you?" 

"I do not!" 

Vegeta smirked, but not in a pleasant way. 

"You're angry she's getting so deep under his skin, both figuratively and literally. You're afraid she's going to ultimately take him away and he won't be your baby anymore." 

Bulma frowned and flushed, but she didn't voice any denial. 

"And you think that if you get angry enough and finally put your foot down, it'll stop and everything will go back to the way it was before, an unattached son who could focus on inheriting the company." 

"It's got nothing to do with the company!" Bulma said, insulted he'd think she'd care more about that than Trunks's well being. 

The smirk fell away. 

"I'm worried, too. But he was like this before they were together. It's just gone downhill. Taking it out on the girl won't help matters at all." 

Bulma saw his tightened fists though. It was her turn to smirk unpleasantly. 

"But you're angry too." 

Vegeta nodded, frowning now. 

"I'm angry she's ignoring him - and has been for days - after such an intimate encounter." 

"At least that we can agree on." 

Vegeta nodded again. 

"How big of a dick move would it be if we just told them something came up and we couldn't host the party?" Bulma asked. 

Vegeta snorted. "Trunks would be angry, no matter how sad he is right now, and then you'd have to explain the reasoning to the Sons. While I can see Piccolo being in support of your decision, the timing would upset Chichi and Gohan. Y'know, the two who actually plan this kind of stuff." 

Bulma frowned. 

"You're right. It's not fair to give those two only a two-day notice when Trunks had literally begged them to let him plan it months ago...." 

She walked off to do exactly what she had told Trunks she'd do, and Vegeta went up the stairs to check on Trunks. After that, he went to the GR. 

They wouldn't figure out what was wrong for even longer still.


	66. Seventeen by Alexa Vega from Repo! the Genetic Opera (Tenshi, Goten)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was . . . difficult to write and edit, so as a result, it might be clunkier than and not flow as well as usual. Content warning: graphic violence.

The day of the party, Tenshi still hadn't looked at her phone. Trunks hadn't moved from his bed in two days, as per Bulma's instructions, but he wasn't feeling any better. He still felt empty, still felt cold. But he looked forward to seeing her. He wanted to be near her again. Tenshi, on the other hand, couldn't place why she was feeling so apprehensive. Nervous. Anxious. Averse to going. But she didn't voice any of what she was feeling. It felt so out of the norm, so ridiculous and inappropriate to feel this way. It was her _birthday_ party that her _boyfriend_ who she really liked was throwing. 

She really liked him . . . didn't she? 

This was horrible. And today . . . today Dende should be able to give her the news about the egg for certain.... Dammit. 

So far, being seventeen really sucked. 

Dominion, while knowing he should be happy for her sister's birthday party, had other concerns. He remembered to when he had first seen Pan between the time he last saw her dad and today. 

_Pan pouted. "Why are you being such a downer? You've been acting really weird, and it's making you be not fun at all."_

He knew Pan and Videl were going to be there. But he didn't know what to do about the weird feeling he had. 

Gohan was oblivious about both his children's inner thoughts, though he was vaguely aware of the slump Dominion was in. Chichi was glad that Goten had brightened up, and Piccolo was nervous about hearing back from Dende. Dende knew where'd they'd be, and he hoped Dende would be able to show up and talk to them in private. 

Goku wasn't feeling one way or the other about anything. Actually, he was about to sneak out the front door. 

"Where're you off to, Grandpa?" Tenshi asked, noticing him slinking away. 

He froze, then turned around and laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Eh heh heh heh! I just figured I'd, ah - " 

"Stay here and train?" came Chichi's curt tone, and Goku laughed more nervously. 

Tenshi rubbed her arm. 

"Aw man. I had hoped you could go with us and, y'know, do the teleport thing and maybe the two of us could train with Vegeta for a bit.... Please come, Grandpa?" 

She liked it when he was around. 

Mentioning training with Vegeta somehow didn't get an immediate response. He seemed to be weighing his options. 

"You really want me there?" 

"Yeah, of course. You're my grandpa, after all." 

"In that case, I'll go." 

Chichi, Gohan, and Piccolo just stared at the two of them. Tenshi smiled - the first smile she had been able to get out in a while. Goku reached out and rubbed the top of her head, making her laugh a little. 

Goku's smile was softer than his smiles normally were. He didn't understand what she was going through or why or that anything specific was going wrong. But, while he had no idea how he knew, he knew she was somehow feeling off, and if she wanted him there, he'd be there. 

So Goku teleported them to the party when the time came, and Trunks bolted out of his bedroom when he sensed Tenshi's ki. 

"There you all are! It's hard to have a birthday party without the birthday gir - !" Bulma started, but then Trunks zoomed into the room and threw himself at Tenshi. 

Tenshi had a surge of panic, fearful that they'd fuse again. But nothing happened. It was just a hug. 

Trunks hugged her tightly, the empty feeling going away now that he was with her. 

Tenshi, however, suddenly felt the heavy feeling swell tenfold and felt like she might vomit. Hopefully not vomit up an egg. 

"Too tight, too tight!" she forced out, unable to really articulate the real problem. 

Trunks loosened his grip and lifted his face out of her chest. 

"Sorry. Happy Birthday." 

"Thanks," Tenshi said. It felt harder to breathe than usual. 

The heavy feeling dissipated some when he let go of her. But he didn't want to as soon as he felt the empty feeling creeping back in. But it would be really weird if he clung to her that tightly after she told him it was too tight. 

"Are you still in your pajamas?" Goten asked, but the question was ignored. Well, ignored by Trunks at least. 

"Hey, you are. I mean, they're cute, but kind of weird for party clothes," Tenshi said. 

"Trunks hasn't been feeling well, but he didn't want to cancel anything," Bulma said, frowning with her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't've run down here so fast." 

"I'm _fine_ , Mom," Trunks groaned, but he was already rubbing his arms, showing that he still felt cold. 

Bulma sighed. "At least get properly dressed if you're going to be out of bed." 

Bulma made Trunks go back to his room to change, and Goten was a little surprised Tenshi didn't go with him. 

"You're not going with?" 

"What for?" 

"I dunno, you were so attached to the hip before. Rather literally." 

"I don't need to watch him get dressed, he'll be back down soon enough." 

Goten shrugged, not minding that much at all. 

"Who wants cake?" Dr. Briefs said. 

The party itself got going in no time at all. Though when they heard Videl's car drive up and park, Dominion got nervous. 

His ears picked up on Gohan's conversation with Videl. 

"Oh. You brought Diablo." 

"Yeah. We had some scheduling issues and couldn't figure out whose weekend it was, so we compromised. I hope that's okay." 

"Sure, I understand." Dominion could hear the tension in Gohan's voice; he didn't like Diablo at all. 

Dominion panicked and tried to think of what he should do. He couldn't face Diablo again. He couldn't. 

He hurried out of the main room, going unnoticed by the others. Tenshi was too busy talking with Trunks and Goten to notice, Gohan was with Videl, Pan, and Diablo outside and coming in, and Piccolo and Chichi had found themselves in an argument with Bulma about the most efficient way to clean bloodstains out of clothes. Goku had noticed, but did nothing about it, just thinking that was weird. Bra basically pounced on Pan once Pan entered the room, keeping Pan's attention for a while. 

Dominion knew some of the layout of the house, but didn't really know just how big the Briefs' house was. So after hurrying away from the big main room, he found himself not knowing exactly where he was. But soon he found a bathroom and chose to hide in there for a while. 

Since it's really boring to just sit in a bathroom hiding from people you're actually friends with, Dominion sat on top of the toilet lid for a while, but then started to explore the cabinets in the bathroom. 

It must've been either Bulma's bathroom or Mrs. Briefs, because Dominion easily found make-up. Lots of foundation and eye shadow and stuff like that. 

Dominion thought back to what Diablo had said. And what Tenshi had said. 

And he had an idea. 

Meanwhile, Tenshi's skin was itching like crazy, and she was trying so hard not to scratch at her skin. Sitting still was maddening, but not even Grandpa and Vegeta were feeling like sparring just yet, so she had no good excuse to really get up. And from the way Trunks and Bulma talked about it, there was a _schedule_ to keep. Next time, either she'd plan her own birthday or tell Trunks to let Daddy do it. Trunks had apparently inherited Bulma's attention to detail and need for scheduling social gatherings and for everything to be perfect. Perfectionist was what he was. 

She remembered a time when she found it to be cute, but right then, it was annoying as fuck.

Goten and Trunks were talking about something - something to do with local bands, as far as she could tell - but it was difficult to focus on it. While she always had hyper-sensitive hearing, for some reason she was picking up on literally everything surrounding them, from the clinking and clanking of glasses against the wooden tables and coasters and each other to the way that people's bodies moved through the air and how their jewelry would jingle. 

The air felt suffocating, and it felt like something was weighing so heavily on her body. 

She wanted to get up, she wanted to move, she wanted to run, she wanted to do _anything other than sit here_. 

She could hear Goku slipping outside and felt his ki stay in the yard. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Trunks asked, and Tenshi had to pull her attention onto him, force it into focus, and that proved to be a rather painful strain on her frontal lobe. She didn't understand why. That had never happened before. She couldn't remember a time her frontal lobe had ever _hurt_. 

"I dunno. I'm feeling . . . ." Heavy. Suffocated. Stuffy. "Over-heated." 

"Here," Goten said, getting up and grabbing one of the cold sodas from the ice chest. He handed it to her, and she brought it over to her forehead. It didn't affect the pain, but it did alleviate her a little bit. 

Tenshi took some deep breaths, then the question slipped out before she could even think about whether or not she wanted to discuss it. 

"Do you two ever think about having kids?" 

Goten and Trunks stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before answering. 

"No, I can't say I have," Goten said, speaking up before Trunks did. "I'm not even sure if I can take care of myself yet, let alone another living thing. If I do have kids, it's gonna be when I've got a job that can support both me, whoever I'm having these kids with, and the kids. But...." And Goten made a face as though someone had put something gross underneath his nose. "I'm gonna be entirely honest, the idea of having sex with anybody for any reason really grosses me out." 

"Really? But sex is fun," Trunks blurted out without thinking. 

Goten's grossed-out expression intensified, and Trunks laughed nervously. 

"I mean, uh. . . . Sorry." Trunks turned his head to look at Tenshi, still nervous. "Why do you ask?" 

Tenshi knew Trunks hadn't answered, and she had a feeling she knew why he wasn't answering. He wanted to know what she thought first. He didn't want to say something that would make this awkward. 

"I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I want kids or not. I'm not . . . ready for kids." 

Her expression darkened as she thought to the egg. 

"Yeah, I'm not either," Trunks said. "I think it'd be nice to have them at some point, though. When we're ready." 

Goten watched as Trunks's expression got hopeful, waiting for Tenshi to say something. Then he looked at Tenshi, whose expression kept darkening. Tenshi slumped in her seat, thinking too deeply. 

"What's up?" Goten asked. 

Tenshi looked up at the both of them, then felt a familiar ki. 

"I'll be right back," Tenshi said, getting up and moving into the front yard. 

Goku had approached Dende outside when Dende and Mr. Popo touched down from the magic carpet they had ridden in on. She could see the egg just underneath Dende's cloak. Tenshi went up to Dende. 

"Hey," she said. 

"Happy Birthday," Dende said. His smile was sad. "I'm . . . sorry I've come at a bad time." 

"It's fine. Just . . . rip it off like a band-aid, I guess." 

Dende nodded. 

"Okay. Goku? If you don't mind, may I talk to her alone?" 

"Uh, sure," Goku said, then walked back into the house. Goku ended up running into Trunks and Goten, and he put a hand on both their shoulders. "We've gotta stay in here." 

"What? Why?" they asked, but Goku just shrugged. 

"Dende has to talk to her alone." 

Piccolo picked up on that, then turned his head to look at the three, then out at the window. That then got everyone else's attention. 

Outside, Tenshi took a deep breath, and Dende had to bring himself to tell her the truth. 

"I have nothing good to say," he said. 

"I figured." 

"It's non-viable. But . . . it wasn't non-existent." 

"What - ?" 

"Namekian babies, before they hatch, feed on the mucus inside of the egg. The whites of the egg, so to speak. It has important nutrition for them. After . . . after careful examination of the egg . . . I know why it never hatched. The . . . the mucus wasn't . . . it had the opposite effect than it was supposed to have. For some reason . . . your body provided a mucus that did not encourage growth, but poisoned it.... If we cracked it open - " 

"I don't want to know," she said, lifting her hands to cover her ears. But she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. They'd find a dead baby inside if they cracked it open. A dead, not-fully formed baby. 

Dende respected her statement. 

"I don't know if it is something that would happen every time, but . . . with how painful that must've been for it, I do not recommend conceiving in the future," Dende said softly. 

That was all Dende had to say. He watched her as she let it all absorb in her brain. Her mouth trembled, and she screwed her eyes shut. Dende's heart ached for her. He had never wanted to be the bearer of any sort of news like this. Especially not for her. He may not be genetically related to her, but she was family, and he had never wanted to hurt any of his family like this. But it was the truth. 

"Trunks - Trunks says he wants kids one day - !" she whimpered out, and she broke down crying. 

Her body was so fucked up, it didn't know it wasn't supposed to poison a little baby - ! 

She didn't start with a whimper, but an anguished cry, and it panicked everyone in the building. They hurried outside, only to find Tenshi crouched down and hunched over, crying into Dende's arms as Dende held her and tried to comfort her. Dende said nothing, but held her gently but firmly. 

Trunks tried to go over to her. 

"That's far enough," Piccolo said sharply. 

Trunks turned toward him, taken aback. 

"What?" he asked. 

"Just leave her alone," Piccolo said, the firmness of his voice startling. He rarely spoke that way anymore. He would be curt and be serious and would make sure that you _would_ listen to him when it was important, but since the Tenkaichi Budokai all those years ago, he hadn't had a "scary" tone. Until now. 

"But - !" Trunks protested, but Gohan cleared his throat. 

"Piccolo's right. I think you all should go back inside."

Goku and Chichi were in agreement and helped usher the others back inside, Trunks resisting them but Goku was firm in his pushing of Trunks back indoors. 

"But what's wrong!?" Trunks demanded. 

Goku shrugged. 

"No idea." 

Outside, Gohan stepped up close to Piccolo, whispering, "What did Dende tell her?" 

Piccolo hesitated. 

"That's for her to tell you when she's ready. I'm sorry, but it's not my place." 

Gohan frowned, eyebrows furrowed, but he relented. 

"In that case, I'll let you keep her company, in case she needs to talk about it." 

"All right. Do you know where Dominion went?" 

"No, but I'll find out." 

Piccolo nodded, then they went their separate ways, Gohan back into the house and Piccolo towards Tenshi and Dende. 

"Is she okay?" was the immediate question Goten asked him when Gohan came back inside. 

Gohan sighed. 

"I don't know what's wrong. Piccolo said she'd tell us when she was ready. And that time is not now." 

"I hope she's not ill...." Bulma said. The worried look Trunks gave her made her regret saying anything at all. 

Vegeta growled in his corner, not liking that none of them knew what was going on. He then stormed towards Gohan, and Gohan pushed him back, but Vegeta pushed forward. 

"Hey - !" Gohan said, grabbing Vegeta and pulling him back. "They said to leave her alone!" 

"Enough with this nonsense!" 

But Vegeta paused when he saw a flash of an egg shell appear from Dende's robes. He watched as Dende talked to Tenshi and Piccolo, looking from one to the other. Piccolo just shook his head and took his daughter into his arms, holding her close. 

"Do whatever you think is appropriate, Dende," Piccolo said. 

Dende nodded and started to put it back away. 

"Wait a minute!" Vegeta shouted, hurrying into the yard. 

"Ah, hell," Piccolo said before Vegeta's voice easily overpowered his. 

"Is that hers!?" 

"Is _what_ hers?" Gohan asked, hurrying out to grab Vegeta and stop this nonsense. 

"The egg!" 

That made Gohan stop in his tracks. Trunks and Goten, who had been right behind Gohan, stopped in the doorway. _What?_

" _Is that hers!?_ " Vegeta demanded. 

Both Piccolo and Dende glared at Vegeta. 

"It's none of your business," Piccolo said sharply. 

"It is my business if that's my grandchild in there!" 

Tenshi got to her feet at this point, starting to break under stress. 

"It's not _anything_ , Vegeta, it's _dead_! I can't - I can't - !" The tears were building up again. "I didn't even know if I _wanted it_ \- !" 

Gohan's face darkened, and he grabbed Vegeta roughly, just as all of Vegeta's urgency and anger puttered out. 

" _Everyone. Inside. Now._ " Gohan ordered, and no one put up a fight. 

Trunks slumped into a chair, stunned. Goten felt sick to his stomach, realizing when the conception must've happened and that she had been carrying that load all on her own and he hadn't a single idea. The same thoughts were going through Trunks's head, and he felt like he _needed_ to be my her side, but he'd wait until she came back inside. It also sounded like she needed to be alone with her mom.... 

Vegeta leaned against the wall, his thoughts going way back into the recesses of his memories, when the Saiyans were still alive and how important it was to prevent miscarriages and that the death of an infant was seen as a great tragedy, even more than when it happened here on Earth to humans. As a species that had already been endangered even before Frieza . . . the survival of their most vulnerable was greatly important. And he hadn't even known a new member of his race - his _family_ \- didn't even make it to see the sun. 

Gohan was glaring, though at no one in particular, though he was shooting quite a few at both Trunks and Vegeta. 

Videl was hugging Pan close to her, and Bulma was doing the same to Bra. Diablo put a hand on Pan's shoulder and one on Videl's. Videl turned her head to look at him, a little surprised by the action. It made her smile softly, though. 

"What's going on?" came Dominion's voice from up the stairs. 

Gohan looked up and opened his mouth to answer him, but the sight before him made him stop. His mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. 

"What did you _do_ to yourself?" 

The others turned their heads or looked up to see what Gohan was talking about. While it did not completely distract them from Tenshi's anguish outside, it certainly was a sudden topic change. 

Dominion had covered his face in Bulma's very peach foundation, not just on his face but his hands and had apparently tried to make his lips and nails look a more human color. He did a very poor job at applying it to his neck, and it was rather splotchy around the ears and on the top of his head. 

Everyone was staring at him, speechless, and Dominion suddenly felt like this was just a bad idea all around. 

"I - I - " Dominion stammered, slowly starting to inch back into the hallway. 

" _Dominion, come down here and explain yourself._ " Gohan ordered. 

Dominion flinched a little, then hurried down the stairs, not wanting to test Gohan's patience. He kept his head down, which highlighted that he really couldn't reach the back of his head with the make-up. 

Gohan knelt down to be at eye level with his youngest child. 

"Dominion, what happened? Why are you - ?" 

Dominion muttered something under his breath. 

"Speak up, sweetheart, I couldn't catch that." 

Dominion's blush peeked out from behind the make-up thanks to the poor job he did on his ears. 

"D-Diablo said I couldn't be with Pan b-because I'm green...." 

There was a cold silence in the room. Videl's eyes widened, and she looked at Diablo. Diablo froze, removing his hand from Videl's shoulder. 

"That's not _exactly_ what I said - " Diablo started, but Gohan cut him off. 

" _Then what did you say, Diablo?_ " 

Gohan moved so fast it looked like he had teleported. He grabbed Diablo by the neck and picked him up off the ground, gripping tightly. 

Pan let out a scream, and Videl pulled Pan away from them. Dominion watched in horror as his father choked the man. 

" _What did you tell my son!?_ " 

Diablo couldn't answer, what with Gohan putting so much pressure on his throat. 

"D-daddy, stop!" Dominion said, scared. 

Gohan didn't listen. 

"Gohan, put him down!" Goku said, but not yet moving to make Gohan do it. 

Gohan still didn't listen. 

Goku moved in to stop Gohan from hurting Diablo further, but Gohan lifted his other hand - the metal one - and circulated his ki through the metal to blast Goku into the wall. 

"Don't tell me how to parent!"

Goku crashed through the wall, ending up in the yard with Dende, Tenshi, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo. 

"Grandpa?" Tenshi asked. 

Dende hurried to Goku to see if he was okay, and Piccolo and Tenshi hurried to the hole in the wall. 

"G-Gohan - !" Piccolo stammered out as he witnessed Gohan choking Diablo to death. 

"Dad - !? What's going - ? Dominion, what the hell happened to you?" 

"Mommy, make Daddy stop!" 

"Gohan, that's enough! Whatever he did, it's not worth killing him over!" 

" _He told **our child** he couldn't play with Pan because **he's green**!" _

Piccolo hesitated at that, but he stood his ground. 

"We let Vegeta live even though he thought all of us maggots in the beginning! Murder isn't the answer, Gohan!" 

"It was your answer the first time, though, wasn't it?" Vegeta said. 

Piccolo's blood ran cold. He didn't want this to happen. Not here, not now. Not in front of the children. 

Gohan turned his head towards Vegeta. Diablo struggled against Gohan's grip and failed to break free. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gohan asked calmly. 

"You killed the Lucas boy. The one in the news. Because he attempted to attack Tenshi." 

A pause. 

" _He deserved it,_ " Gohan spat out, turning his head back to Diablo. 

They all stared in shock. Piccolo felt sick. 

Goten realized he was the reason Gohan knew what Lucas looked like. Goten was responsible for Lucas's death. His stomach felt like it was crawling up his throat. He covered his mouth, hoping he wouldn't actually puke. 

"You - you can't fucking do that, Dad! He tried to hurt me, yeah, but we're all so much stronger than a prick like that ever could be! Murder wasn't the answer to that at all!" Tenshi said. 

"No one gets to hurt you and get away with it!" Gohan shouted. 

Pan got away from Videl and ran up to Gohan and started pounding her little fists on Gohan's leg. 

"Put my daddy down! Put him down, put him down, put him down!" Pan demanded, tears pricking at her own eyes. 

Gohan looked down at her. Pan looked up, clearly upset and trying to be intimidating while also tearing up. 

Gohan lowered Diablo so that his feet were on the floor again, and he relaxed his grip on Diablo's throat. Slowly, he took his hand back. 

Diablo coughed and spluttered, trying to catch his breath. 

"I - I'm sorry - Lo siento - ! I'll never say anything like that again! I swear!" 

Gohan was quiet for a moment. 

"I know you won't," Gohan said calmly. 

Before anyone could think to stop him, Gohan took his metal hand, thrust it into Diablo's mouth, reached deep, grabbed what he was looking for, then ripped Diablo's tongue right out of his mouth. 

Diablo did what screaming he could manage and fell to his knees, blood spraying from his mouth. Gohan's prosthetic hand shined with bright, fresh blood. 

Almost everyone subconsciously covered their own mouths, but Pan ran to her father's side. 

"Daddy!" 

Dominion watched in terror. This was his fault. If he hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened. This was his fault - ! 

"The _fuck is wrong with you_!?" Tenshi shouted, but then she started coughing and had to switch out her cannula with her face mask. 

Gohan had calmed down significantly now that he had taken his aggression out on Diablo. Even his anger at Trunks for getting Tenshi pregnant had dissipated. Though some of it was still there. 

"It's time for us to leave," Gohan said, turning around from Diablo and taking a step towards Dominion. 

"We're not going anywhere with y-!" Tenshi said, her own lung span cutting her off; she hadn't waited long enough before speaking again. 

"Don't be silly," Gohan replied. 

"She's not," Piccolo said, taking a deep breath. 

Gohan paused, looking at Piccolo. 

"What?" 

"We're _not_ going anywhere with you. Not right now. But the children and I _are_ leaving." 

" _Excuse me?_ " 

"This behavior is _unacceptable_ , and you know it. You'll see us again when you've thought about what you've _done_." 

"You can't just take them - !" 

"That didn't stop you before," Piccolo said coldly. 

That shut Gohan right up. 

Piccolo went to Dominion and picked him up, carrying him in his arms. Tenshi stayed outside in the yard. 

"Wait," Chichi said. 

Piccolo paused, and Chichi came up to him and handed him a capsule. 

"Just in case," she said. 

Piccolo recognized the number. He nodded, understanding what she meant. 

"Thank you." 

"Keep in touch, okay?" Chichi said. 

"I will." 

Trunks went to Tenshi and hugged her tightly before she left. 

"We'll keep your gifts here, so you know where to go to pick them all up," Trunks said. Tenshi nodded. The heavy feeling increased tenfold once again as Trunks held her. She had no idea what it meant. "I love you, and I'm sorry." 

"I'm sorry, too," she said. 

While they said goodbye, Dende healed Diablo the best he could. 

Trunks wanted to say so much more, but Piccolo cut the goodbye short. 

"Dende, is there room on that carpet for three?" 

"Yes." 

"Tenshi, you'll ride with Dende and Popo." 

"Yes, Mom." 

Tenshi got onto the carpet and held onto Dende. She waved goodbye as they flew away. 

Vegeta stood behind Gohan, an odd expression on his face. 

"Of all of us here on Earth, I never pegged you to be the one with a real Saiyan sense of justice," Vegeta said. 

"Shut the hell up," said Gohan. 


	67. Say You'll Haunt Me by Stone Sour (Tenshi, Goten, Gohan)

The Lookout was boring, but safe. Well, it was boring to Tenshi. Dominion seemed to enjoy Dende's big library. But Tenshi could tell that her little brother was having quite a bit of trouble with focusing on the readings, and Tenshi really couldn't be bothered to try to read anything. 

She mostly trained, only meditating when she was exhausted and truly needed to recharge. 

Piccolo was doing the opposite, mostly meditating and picking up on training when he couldn't sit there any longer. 

Dende and Mr. Popo watched and catered to their needs, silently waiting for the moment when they would be needed for comfort. 

It wasn't everyday you learned your husband or father had killed someone and kept it a secret. It wasn't everyday you watched him rip out the tongue of a friend's parent. 

Tenshi was pissed. She didn't blame herself for any of what happened. She didn't blame herself for Lucas grabbing her and trying to kiss her; that was Lucas's fault. Should she have been making out with random boys? Maybe not. But it was not her fault he had been a fucking creep. She didn't blame herself from Daddy going out and killing Lucas. That was Daddy's fault. 

She couldn't say one way or the other whether or not Lucas had deserved to die or not. All she did know was that it was impossible for Lucas to have had a fighting chance, and even if he was a piece of shit, he had deserved a fighting chance. 

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Grandpa always said. "It's up to them what they do with it." 

She remembered Grandpa's story of the defeat of Frieza and of the Cell Games. She remembered how Grandpa felt about these kinds of things. 

It hadn't even occurred to her that it might be possible that Daddy would feel differently about that in the least bit. 

It almost felt like she didn't know her daddy at all. 

And it was pissing her off. 

Combined with her anger, the heavy feeling in her body drove her to keep moving. Punch, punch punch, kick, kick, kick, jab, jab, jab, fight, fight, fight. It was all that she could do to feel like she was still in control of herself and her life. 

When she'd stop for hydration and protein intake, she looked over at Mommy. Mommy's brow was deeply furrowed, and his shoulders were hunched. It was clear he was more in deep thought than in meditation. No doubt trying to figure out what was even going on and how it happened.... 

Tenshi thought back to when Daddy had taken her from the Tenkaichi Budokai and kept her in that tiny room. How it had seemed like they would be in that tiny room forever and ever, had Daddy not fallen ill. 

Tenshi felt sick when it occurred to her that the very motivation for keeping in in that room was the same motivation for killing Lucas, when you got right down to it. 

Daddy hated not being in control of what happened to his children. Any threat to that had to be taken care of. 

She wondered if Mommy was coming to that conclusion too. 

It had only been a couple of days of being on the Lookout when they felt Gohan's ki approaching them. 

Piccolo's eyes snapped open, and he unfurled himself from his meditative state. 

"Tenshi, get inside and keep your brother company," Piccolo ordered. 

Tenshi adjusted her nasal cannula as she went into the building on the Lookout. 

Tenshi sat by Dominion and pulled him close to her. He had a book open in front of him, but his eyes were not going from word to word on the page. 

"He's here. Isn't he?" Dominion asked. 

"Yeah." 

Tenshi and Dominion knew they'd be able to hear Piccolo and Gohan talking.

"Why'd this have to happen?" Dominion asked. 

"I don't know." 

"I didn't mean for this to happen." 

"It's not your fault." 

Dominion turned his head up toward her, and Tenshi saw that he was near tears just from talking about it. 

"Because of me, Diablo won't be able to talk ever again. Pan . . . Pan will never . . . ." 

"There's no way Pan blames you for it. And if she did, then screw her." 

Dominion sniffed and buried his face into Tenshi's clothes. 

"You said no human girl would ever like me, and I just wanted - I didn't want this to happen - !" 

Tenshi frowned. She knew what she had said. For the most part, it was still true. 

"Hey. If it's anyone's fault, it's Daddy's fault for attacking Diablo in the first place. And . . . in a way, it's my fault too. If I had known you were talking about _Pan_ and not just some random human, I wouldn't have said that stuff. There's no way Pan would be so shallow as that." 

Dominion didn't argue with her on it, but Tenshi wasn't sure he wanted to argue at all, even if he disagreed with her. 

"I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have . . . ." 

Tenshi knew that she could do nothing but repeat herself to him, so she just held him and kept her arms around him, providing as much protection and comfort as she could manage. 

Their age gap and different interests made it a bit difficult for them to relate to one another, but their shared genetic make-up means that really, there was no one else in the world who could understand them like each other. There were no other Namekian hybrids, and it would seem that they would forever be the only ones, still. She couldn't reproduce. The likelihood was that Dominion couldn't either. She doubted Mommy and Daddy would have another kid.... In this timeline, they were the only ones who could understand how being a hybrid really felt. 

Outside, Piccolo stood his ground as Gohan touched down onto the white tile. 

Gohan's face was serious, but not angry. 

"Well?" Piccolo said. "What do you have to say for yourself?" 

Gohan was quiet for a moment. 

"I'm not sorry for what I did." 

"To the boy or Diablo?" 

"Both." 

Piccolo gritted his teeth, baring them at Gohan. 

"So, is that it then? You've eliminated threats to your children who _couldn't ever hope_ to fight back against you, and everything's fine and dandy for you?" 

"No one ever had a problem with me killing Cell. How is this any different?" 

"The Lucas boy wasn't a genocidal maniac!" 

"He could've been targeting all sorts of girls! You can't say getting a fucking _creep_ like that off the streets isn't a good thing!" 

"He was a creep, but _he was a child_! The was a _human child_ who had no idea that what he had tried to do could have gotten her with egg or been considered sex in any way shape or form! I'm all for putting our distance between people who try shit like that on our children, but he was ignorant at best! Even if he was a dangerous threat, Goten and Tenshi are _still a hundred times stronger than any human in the world_! They can take care of themselves, and if they deemed it unnecessary to kill that boy, then _you should have let that be their decision_! They were there, we were not!" 

"They didn't grow up like we did! They wouldn't have the nerve to kill anyone, even if they wanted to!" 

Piccolo scoffed. 

"That may be the case for Goten, but you know Tenshi better than that, don't you!? She had no problem teaming up with Trunks to take out that Super Saiyan that attacked us! Tenshi is a warrior, and while I pray that no day goes by where she has to resort to killing, I know that she does have it in her to do what it takes to protect the Earth and herself and others! If that boy's death needed to happen, it would have the day he grabbed her!" 

Gohan opened up his mouth to retaliate, but Piccolo interrupted him. 

"Do you even care how much you've affected them with what you've done!?" 

Gohan stared at Piccolo, his mouth closing and eyebrows furrowing. The cluelessness in Gohan's expression fed the fire in Piccolo's stomach. 

"Dominion blames himself for what you did to Diablo! He blames himself for his _best friend's father_ not having a tongue anymore! When it's no one's fault but yours!" 

"But that bastard - !" 

" _I know what he did!_ " 

Gohan fell silent again. He simply watched as Piccolo raged at him. 

"Do you really think I don't care that he told _my_ child that he couldn't play with his daughter because he's _green_? Because _I_ , a _Namekian_ , green as the plants that provide the oxygen for human life on this planet, birthed him and he inherited my features!? Can you really be so _ignorant_ to think that _doesn't piss me off beyond belief_? But no, I can't afford to even give a moment's ounce of anger or resentment over it, _because I'm too busy trying to comfort a child who thinks he's responsible for his father turning into a nut job_!" 

Piccolo watched as Gohan truly began to understand what Piccolo was saying, what Gohan had done, and how their children were taking the situation. 

"And if you think there's any trust in you left in Tenshi, you can think again!" Piccolo continued, unable to help himself at this point. "She doesn't talk about it, but she thinks too loud not to notice. If she had any say in the matter, she'd never let you have any say in anything she did ever again. Between this and kidnapping her all those years ago - " 

"I didn't - " 

" _Yes you did!_ Yes you did, Gohan, you took her without telling anyone where you went and blackmailed Mr. Satan into helping you! That is what happened!" 

"I was protecting her! That's all that any of that has ever been about! Protecting them!" 

" _But who's going to protect them from you!?_ " 

Something snapped in Gohan's brain, and he hit Super Saiyan 2 form before he could even process what he was wanting to do, let alone what he _was_ doing. 

Tenshi and Dominion felt the power increase. Panic quickened their heartbeats. 

"Stay here!" Tenshi ordered, jumping up and running out to see what was going on. 

Dominion didn't listen. He ran after her. 

Piccolo and Gohan were fighting, Gohan's fists flying and Piccolo dodging and blocking. Gohan hadn't trained in a long time, but he was still fast, still powerful, even if his technique and form were sloppy. 

"What the fuck, Dad!?" Tenshi shouted, but she hesitated to join the fray. She had never fought Daddy. Never ever. And she had never really known that his power could reach a level like this. 

It didn't make sense. Why was he exposing more power than he had with Broly had shown up? 

But Dominion couldn't sense any of that. All he saw was that his parents were fighting. 

"STOP IT!" Dominion shouted, running into the fray. 

"DOMINION, NO!" 

Tenshi moved to grab him and pull him back. 

But it happened too fast. 

Dominion was small and fast, if not strong and powerful. 

From Gohan's perspective, the moment between Piccolo asking who would protect the children from him and the moment Dominion was thrown across the tile floor, hitting it on his back - hard - was a complete black space in his memory. But he knew, from how his arm was positioned, that he had been the one to hit Dominion back. He knew from how his body was thrumming and thriving that he had just hit his youngest child in the chest with a super powerful attack. 

His youngest child who had a pace maker for his heart. In the chest. 

Dominion's ki was falling into dangerous levels, and Gohan covered his mouth with both hands, horrified at what he had done. 

Dende rushed to Dominion's side, immediately putting his hands out and starting the healing process. 

"I'll need Dr. Briefs!" Dende said, knowing he couldn't do this alone. 

Piccolo was already forging a mental connection with Goku, and Goku teleported onto the scene. He grabbed onto Dende, and Piccolo quickly grabbed onto Goku. The four vanished with the instant transmission technique. To Dr. Briefs. To save Dominion's life. 

Tenshi stared at where Dominion had hit the floor. It had a dent in the tile. 

Her fragile little brother hit the floor hard enough to dent it. 

Because he had tried to stop their parents from fighting. 

Gohan fell to his knees, body shaking from terror and guilt. His hands were still covering his mouth. He was making small whimpering sounds. 

Tenshi's temper flared in a manner that was rather reminiscent of Gohan's. 

Tenshi turned toward Gohan and glared at him. Her eyes, always reminding people of Goku, would only be recognizable to Frieza in that moment. 

"Get the _fuck_ off the Lookout, Dad." 

The only movement Gohan did was lift his head to look up at her. 

He watched as his oldest child - his only daughter - stood tall and above him, glaring at him like she hated him. 

She probably did. 

"I said _leave_." 

Gohan's body was still shaking as he stood up. It shook as he walked away, and it shook as he took flight and left the Lookout. 

Gohan couldn't keep his body still enough to make it very far. But he landed on the ground with little incident. 

Bora and Oopa peeked out of their teepee to see who had arrived at Korin's Tower. 

Gohan sunk to the ground, knees first, then sat, body shaking and his mind going too fast, much too fast, and yet wasn't going anywhere. 

The shaking got worse as Gohan started to cry, sobs ripping from deep inside his body. 

It took hours, but Dende and Dr. Brief were able to save Dominion. The boy slept on the bed as Dende sat down for the first time in hours, sighing in relief. 

Dr. Briefs worked on explaining to Bulma, Trunks, and Bra what had happened. 

Piccolo gripped the capsule that Chichi had given him. 

This was his choice. He felt like both children wouldn't mind it. 

They were going back to New Namek. Just the three of them.


	68. Don't Tell 'Em by Jeremih feat. YG (Trunks)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uncomfortable sexual situations ahead, but no assault. Actual sex that happens is consensual. 
> 
> A tiny bit of my research from work has come in handy; from what I've read, the Cherokee Native Americans used tea for basically every kind of medical treatment, if they gave you an actual prescription. I actually really like Bora and Oopa and really like that they were able to surprise me by showing up in this story.
> 
> A lot needs to happen in this chapter, and I'm doing my best to pull it all together.

After Goku took Piccolo and Dominion and Dende back to the Lookout, he sensed that Gohan was at the bottom of Korin's Tower. He flew down instead, his brain rolling the situation around in his head. He didn't understand.... What was going on? It had to have been an accident, right? Gohan wouldn't hurt Dominion on purpose.... 

Goku landed on the grass by Korin's Tower. Oopa popped his head out of the teepee that he and his father lived in. 

"Goku!" Oopa said, hurrying up to him. 

"Hey, Oopa. I sensed my son was down here. You seen him?" 

"About this high, spiky hair, and glasses?" 

"Yep, that's him." 

"He's in the teepee. We . . . felt like it would be wrong to send him away in such a state, even though he wants to leave." 

Goku tilted his head, not quite understanding what Oopa was saying. 

Oopa led him into the teepee, and Bora looked up. 

Gohan was sitting on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket Bora had given him, his body shaking. Bora was pouring tea into a cup, and from the tea ring just underneath the rim, it looked like he had been making a lot of tea for Gohan. 

Bora gave a sad smile. 

"He has bad nerves. He cannot fly safely in this state." 

Goku sat down on the floor and crossed his legs, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Gohan? Are you okay?" 

Gohan shook his head, his mouth trembling. 

"My baby boy.... I . . . I hurt my baby boy...." 

The tears pricked his eyes again. 

"Hey...." Goku reached out to touch Gohan. "He's okay. He's alive. Dende and Dr. Briefs were able to save him. He's gonna be fine. And he's still part Saiyan. He's alive, and he'll get stronger from this. If anything ever does happen to him again, it won't be as bad." 

The word "again" made Gohan's eyes widen. Instead of any of what Goku said comforting him, it made Gohan start to sob again. Goku's frown deepened, and he moved closer to him to give Gohan a hug. 

He hadn't done that for a very long time, now that he thought about it.... 

Goku did not shush him, and after the first few times, he realized that telling Gohan that things were okay weren't helping. He let his son cry it out and waited. 

While Goku waited and comforted his oldest son, waited to be able to take him home, Goten, Trunks, and Videl were receiving text messages from Tenshi. 

Videl's eyes widened as she received hers, though she wasn't exactly surprised. 

It read: Mom, Dominion, and I are leaving tonight for New Namek. I don't know when we'll see you again. But we'll have to come back from Dominion's pacemaker check-up and my oxygen tanks. We'll see you then. 

She told Pan what the text said. 

"What!? Why!? When are they coming back!?" 

Videl wasn't sure how her daughter felt about what happened at Tenshi's birthday party, but one thing was clear. She did not blame Dominion for what happened and still wanted to be his friend. Even if neither of them were sure if they wanted to be near Gohan right then. Videl still cared about Gohan. And he was her friend. But she did not feel like it was safe for her daughter to be around him. And her daughter's safety - and her own - came before everything else.

When Goten got his, he ripped his earbuds out of his ears and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. 

"Mom!" 

Chichi read it, then frowned, but she didn't look surprised at all. 

"Did you know about this?" Goten asked, picking up on her lack of surprise. 

"I'm the one who gave them the spaceship capsule. However, I was hoping they wouldn't need it...." 

"What made you think they'd need it?" Goten asked. 

Chichi gave him a small smile. 

"Gohan reminds me a lot of me, sometimes. And I remember being at an age where you'd do absolutely anything for your children without actually thinking about what it would do to you or them. In some ways, Goku taking Gohan off for all that fighting was a good deterrent. In others . . . not so much." 

Chichi frowned again, her thoughts going to places that she had tried not to think about too much. Those spaces in her brain were too bitter and did no good to dwell on. How the fighting fueled Gohan's temper. How Gohan had gotten so strong to the point that punishment for misbehavior was near impossible, especially when co-parenting with Goku and he didn't understand what the problem was. (She never understood that about Goku....) How things could've been easier, for both Gohan and herself, if Piccolo had been a second husband instead of a son-in-law.... But she had dedicated herself to letting go of that bitterness, so even though she could not release her resentment towards Goku, she would stop feeling bad about Piccolo and her son. 

Things were the way they were, and she had to admit that she loved her grandchildren just the way they were. And that they would not have been who they are today if their parents weren't who they were. 

When Trunks received the text, he quickly sat up from his spot on his bed, cocooned in blankets and bed sheets and wool sweaters to combat the cold. He immediately texted her back. It was only when he did that that he realized that it had been a group text. She had sent a group text to tell him she was leaving. It was a carbon copy of what she sent Goten and Videl. 

This was his only goodbye from her. 

He waited for her to text back, to say anything else in addition to what she said. 

He loved her. He hated being away from her. He felt less cold when he was near her, he felt like he was less incomplete when he was with her. 

She was going to an entirely different planet without him and just said "I don't know when we'll see you again. But we'll have to come back from Dominion's pacemaker check-up and my oxygen tanks. We'll see you then." See you then. _See you then._

She didn't text back. 

 

The trip to New Namek took a bit of time, but Piccolo handled the controls and made sure it reached their destination. Tenshi did push-ups on the spaceship floor while Dominion watched or read one of his many books. 

Dominion wasn't sure how he felt about leaving the rest of their family behind. But his chest was sore, and he felt tired, and he couldn't quite remember how he had been thrown into the tile floor of the Lookout. He couldn't actually remember that it was Gohan's arm that had hit him and that it had been his daddy's raw power that had almost killed him. 

He just remembered the pain and the closing of his eyes. 

Piccolo, on the other hand, couldn't shake the image of his youngest child laying there, about to die. He felt weird about taking off without actually saying goodbye to Chichi and Goten and Goku, but he knew there was no way to do that for him without seeing Gohan again. And he couldn't look at Gohan right now. He knew that Tenshi had that phone and let her handle it. 

He was questioning so many of his decisions up to this point, and even as they approached the planet, he doubted even this decision. They didn't really know anyone over there. No one he really considered a friend. He had Nail's memories rolling around in his head, but he, himself, did not know them. Nail knew them. 

But he couldn't think of anything else to do. 

Tenshi was refusing to think about it. She refused to think about her dad. Refused to think about Trunks. Refused to think about the baby her biology had basically killed. She didn't want to think about any of it. 

She kept her mind blank, even as the emotions were pumping her blood too fast. She could hear the rush of her blood in her ears, and she had the morbid thought that if she got cut right then, she'd bleed to death in an instant. 

Her muscles burned and begged for more oxygen and energy, and her lungs were burning from the exercising. 

"Tenshi?" Piccolo called back to her, hearing her ragged breathing. 

"I'm - fine," she panted, continuing her push-ups. 

"Don't push yourself too hard," Piccolo reminded her, his voice firm. 

"Yes - sir," she said, having no intention of actually listening. 

"Tenshi, I'm thirsty. I'd get it myself but it hurts to move," Dominion lied. Well, it did hurt to move, but he wasn't actually thirsty just yet. 

Tenshi immediately stopped training, then got up and got him a glass of water. She got one herself while she was at it, then sat down with him. 

"May I read to you?" 

"Sure," she said. 

Dominion read aloud from his book. Tenshi eventually fell into meditation while she listened. 

They soon landed on New Namek, and the reality of Piccolo's decision to relocate struck him at that moment. 

What were they _really_ going to do for a place to live? 

The Namekians weren't blind and could sense energy. They knew they had arrived the moment they had entered the atmosphere. 

Hammer was among the ones who greeted them. 

"Isn't this a surprise. I almost didn't expect to see you again," he said as he went up to Tenshi and held his hand out to her. 

"Same, actually. But we're here for a while. If that's okay with you all, that is," Tenshi said. 

"It's more than all right. You three can even stay with me if you'd like. I haven't had anyone to share my home with for quite a while," Hammer said. 

"How come?" she asked, already grabbing what she had brought with her and slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

"Well, it used to be us healers in training stayed in the same dormitory, but we've graduated now and they all have gone either back to their home villages or moved to a new village or a new home. I on the other hand have taken up the mantel of training the next generation while also continuing my studies. So I now have a home all to my own, but it gets lonely sometimes." 

"Cool," Tenshi said. 

Piccolo weighed the options and accepted Hammer's offer. Living with a healer would be very important for his children. 

Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion avoided the questions about where Gohan was and the rest of their family. Hammer respected their choice to not talk about it. 

At first, living with Hammer was awkward. It was so weird to be in another person's home and _live_ there. But Hammer and Dominion had quite a bit in common, what with both of them being nerds, though books were not really a thing on New Namek. Namekians had a written language, but most information was exchanged through working together and teaching one another either through speech or telepathy. Mostly speech. Telepathy was in cases of emergencies or situations where you could not talk. Written language was for those who knew they would not be around for much longer or would not be present to give the necessary information for others. So the fact that Dominion had multiple books was fascinating to Hammer. 

"On Earth, people write books and then sell them for profit and have many, many copies of the same book. It's how they share most of their information with each other," Dominion explained. 

Tenshi couldn't help but smile a little as she trained in the yard and listened to them talking about the books and what was in them. 

Piccolo, not wanting to be a burden, investigated how he could help in the village very soon after moving in to Hammer's home. He was slowly but surely learning how to tend to the plants and build homes. Though when one of the village children had fallen into the river and was getting swept away, the swiftness Piccolo had moved to save the child and then reprimanded them, following up with a comforting gesture, confirmed for them all that the best job for Piccolo was looking after the children when the others were away. But there was no sense in not also teaching him the other skills, so that's exactly what they did. 

Namekians did not have a form of currency. The idea of capitalism was completely foreign to them. Dominion had to carefully explain what the concept of "buying" was. On New Namek, everyone shared and everyone thought about the feelings and needs of others. 

While there were warriors, however, the village was rather in awe of Tenshi's ability to hyper-focus on training. Piccolo wasn't surprised, though it was a change of behavior for her. But a lot had happened in a short amount of time. It made sense that she wanted to put her frustrations and anger and pain into something productive. And as Hammer had pointed out when they were last there, painting was not something Namekians on New Namek did.

That did not stop Piccolo from warning her not to over-exert herself. 

One day, Hammer learned exactly what it was like when she did just that. 

It had just been Hammer and Tenshi at the house. Dominion was visiting the school that New Namek had, just to see what it was like. Both Tenshi and Hammer felt that he would like it. Piccolo was helping in the village. 

Hammer had been tending to an elder who was having some blood-thinning issues when they heard Tenshi fall, hard, onto the ground. 

Hammer hurried out into the yard and found Tenshi laying in the dirt, forcing herself to roll over and switch out her cannula for her face mask. Her hand was shaking, and her body was trembling. 

Hammer hurried over to her and helped her switch her mask out, and he stayed with her as she tried to get her breath back. 

"Come. I'll carry you inside. Lain, would you mind fetching some water?" 

The elderly Namekian wasted no time in helping Hammer get Tenshi what she needed. 

Tenshi lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. 

Her body felt so much heavier now that she wasn't moving. It felt like the stillness would suffocate her. 

But she had trained too hard and was too weak to even sit up. Even if she hadn't been, Hammer insisted she stay lying down and taking the time to re-hydrate. 

"I'll brew some tea and find those . . . what is it called again?" 

"Protein shakes," Tenshi said, her voice faint. 

Hammer found the protein shakes and brought it to her and helped her drink her nutrients. 

After she had consumed the drink, she had closed her eyes and . . . Hammer could only assume she was meditating because of how her chest was still moving up and down. But she was significantly more relaxed than anyone could be in a meditative state, and as he continued to do what he needed to do for work, she did not react in the slightest. 

He begun to get worried when Piccolo arrived. 

"She overwork herself?" he asked. 

"Yes, I'm afraid." 

Piccolo grunted, then patted the top of her head. 

"You're worried about her sleeping." 

"Sleep - ?" 

"My children fall asleep, like humans do, when they have gone through great physical distress. She did this to herself, so I'm not as worried as I would be if she hadn't. Her sleeping just means she needs rest she cannot achieve through meditation. She's fine." 

"Ah. I see...." 

Sleep seemed to be strange. When Tenshi woke up, Dominion had returned, and Hammer got to hear about how Dominion liked the school and what dreams were for the first time. 

About a month had passed on New Namek. Piccolo knew that they'd have to go back to Earth for Dominion's check-up and to get more oxygen for Tenshi very soon. 

But a Namekian monthly custom was on the horizon, and all three of them were a little curious as to what it was. Piccolo was learning the most about it, due to working with the other adults. And Dominion learned some about it, though not much more than that the children all got to do a sleepover with one of the elders watching over them while the adults did their rituals. 

The exact nature of the custom was still a mystery. 

Tenshi and Piccolo dropped Dominion off at the elder's home, then they both headed for the village square, where all the other grown Namekians were. 

"Don't wander off too far, all right?" Piccolo said. 

"Yes, Mommy," Tenshi said, looking around and spotting Hammer. She went ahead and walked over to him. 

"Tenshi! There you are. Here," he said. He handed her a cup. She sniffed it, her eyebrows raising.

"Alcohol?" 

"Yes, brewed from a special flower in the medical garden." 

"It's medicinal?" 

"In a way...." 

She didn't drink it just yet. 

"So what is this exactly?" 

"No one's told you yet? Well, you see," and Hammer explained it to Tenshi. 

At the same time, it was also being explained to Piccolo. 

"It's a type of giving of thanks for the fact that we survived the destruction of the Old Namek. It's a time for celebration and contributing to life and the environment." 

"Meaning?" Piccolo asked. 

"For the most part, we take part in drink and fornicate." 

Piccolo just stared at them. 

"Pardon?" 

The other Namekians stared back at Piccolo, openly confused by the hesitant, panicked look on Piccolo's face. 

"We said we - " 

"You mean this is an _orgy_?" 

There was some laughing, though Piccolo couldn't find the source. His ears turned purple. 

"Well, not . . . exactly? You don't have to have sex with everyone, just whoever you're comfortable with, and - " But any other explanations were cut off by Piccolo. 

"In that case I am going to _leave_ and check on the children and _not come back_ , thank you for the invite, goodbye," Piccolo rushed through, then immediately turned and started to quickly walk away. 

They simply stared after him, not comprehending what had just happened. 

"But . . . he's not a virgin. . . . Can he be?" one of them asked, and Piccolo simply ignored it and had no plans of ever answering that question. It was none of their business. 

The idea of having sex with Gohan had always been _uncomfortable_ but the idea of having sex with people who were still basically _strangers_ was absolutely terrifying, and his desire to go back to Earth increased dramatically. 

Gohan wouldn't be confused over it. He'd have understood, even if it was frustrating to him, and Gohan . . . Gohan had always understood him, even if Piccolo had failed to understand him sometimes. 

The fact that Piccolo did indeed miss Gohan hit Piccolo tenfold. It had been a month without the man, and Piccolo was really hoping Gohan had improved in his absence. He didn't like being away from him. 

Tenshi, however, was still at the gathering. 

"Wait, so, do Namekians not have boyfriends?" Tenshi asked. 

"Hm? What do you mean?" 

"Y'know, people you date, raise families with. . . ?" 

"Oh, you mean life partners?" 

"Uh, yeah." 

"No, no, we have those. But what does that have to do with anything?" 

Tenshi slowly was realizing that the open relationship was the default on New Namek. 

It had been a while since she had had sex, but she was still dating Trunks.... Wasn't she? Things had been . . . so weird . . . and she hadn't texted him once in this whole month, despite her phone still working.... She hadn't texted or called Goten either.... 

"Tell you what, I'mma drink some of this, so we're on the same intoxication level, then we'll talk about fucking, 'kay?" Tenshi said. 

Hammer blushed and brought his own alcohol to his lips. 

Tipsy would have been the word used to describe what Tenshi and Hammer were when they got to talking. Tenshi admitted that she had a life partner back on Earth (Trunks), and Hammer admitted that he was essentially single, but had been a temporary bed companion for quite a few lovely partners. In her drunken state, Tenshi said some things about how it felt to fuck Trunks that she would regret sharing when she was sober. Hammer expressed some fascination in how she had been able to navigate sexual behavior with a different species. 

"An' you said this whole thing is basically to keep the pop'lation up, right?" she asked. 

"That's right," Hammer said, nodding confirmation. 

"Well, I hate ta break it to ya, but I can't have children. It's not happ'n'n. The egg gets fucked up." 

Hammer could see the sadness in her eyes when she said it. 

"You learned that recently?" 

"Yeah...." 

"I'm sorry you had to exp- exp- had to have that happen to you." 

Tenshi shrugged. 

"If you want to, though, I would still like to have sex with you, child or no child. You're very beautiful and a good Namekian," Hammer said. "It'd be an honor to mate with you." 

Tenshi started laughing, though Hammer didn't understand why. 

"You're such a dork," Tenshi said, taking another swig of the alcoholic drink. 

The alcohol made her head feel funny, but the heavy feeling was . . . displaced somehow. Like, she still felt heavy, but it was moving around, and walking and talking to Hammer seemed to assuage it. 

Maybe the alcohol was a bad idea, but Tenshi was willing to try anything to get the heavy feeling to just give it a fucking rest already. 

"Got birth control, then?" she asked. 

The next day, Piccolo took Dominion back to Hammer's home. Tenshi was sober, but feeling sick to her stomach. She knew she wasn't going to have another egg, and Hammer wasn't either. 

But she had done something bad. 

So far away, back on Earth, Trunks woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. His stomach churned, and he felt like throwing up. 

He had no reason to think it, but he had this horrible feeling that Tenshi had done something she shouldn't have. But he had no idea what it could be. 

He texted her. _Are you all right?_

Tenshi received the text, and she hesitated. But she (finally) texted Trunks back. 

_I'm okay. I'm not hurt. Are you okay?_

Trunks texted back immediately, so glad to hear from her at all. 

_Just woke up. Felt like something had happened. Glad you're okay. I love you._

Tenshi's mouth pressed into a thin line as she read the last three words of Trunks's text. 

She texted back the words _I love you, too_ , then had to run out of the house and bend over, dry-retching over the grass. 

"That's it," Piccolo said when she finally stopped dry-heaving with nothing coming up. "We're going back to Earth for your check-ups." 

Back on Earth, Trunks _actually_ vomited into the toilet as Tenshi dry-heaved on New Namek. Bulma came in to check up on him and to take his temperature, worried that he was getting really sick. 

He was still unreasonably cold, and Dr. Briefs still couldn't find anything physically wrong with him. It was getting bad. 

Just what was causing all this?


	69. One Last Time by Ariana Grande (Trunks)

In the month that Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion were gone, the Son residence and the Briefs residence where struggling to find a new equilibrium. 

Bulma was trying to find the Dragon Balls because she had run out of options and ideas for how to help Trunks. Whatever was wrong with him, he couldn't keep warm. In the gossip rags (not that Bulma _cared_ what they said), rumors that the "bastard heir to Capsule Corp" was a "drug addict" were being published, the titles accompanied by paparazzi photos taken without permission of Trunks in giant coats that made him look like a different-colored marshmallow. He wore thick gloves, and his fashion sense ended up being sacrificed in favor of staying warm. His teeth were constantly chattering, to the point where Bulma sometimes got so used to the sound that she almost forgot he was doing it. 

Vegeta had thrown Trunks into the Gravity Room at one point. But no matter how many punches he threw or how many laps he made Trunks run, no amount of physical activity seemed to warm the boy up. It didn't make any damn sense. 

But Bulma threw the Dragon Radar against the wall. 

"What's the matter?" Vegeta asked her, body tense. 

"They're no where! No where on the radar! Someone must've used them up!" 

"What?" 

"And there's no telling _when_ someone did that or when they'll be back!" 

"Hold on. Didn't the sky go all black about a month and a half ago?" 

Bulma hesitated, then looked at Vegeta. 

"Yeah, I think so...." 

"So, Dende's balls need 6 months to rejuvenate, don't they? Instead of a full year?" 

"Yeah...." 

"So all Trunks needs is to last four and a half more months, then we'll have the answers we need to get him right again. Or just _wish_ him better." 

Bulma nodded. 

"You're right.... But dammit! Who could've made a wish?" 

"It's two wishes, isn't it?" 

"Yeah. Though we have no idea if they actually used both of them.... If not, then it'll be back in two and a half instead of four...." 

"Maybe it was one of the others instead of a stranger entirely. How many people know about the Dragon Balls here on Earth?" 

"There's no telling, really, but not many.... We're basically friends with everyone who does know about them...." 

"So you can just ask them when you see them next if they used them." 

Bulma nodded, but instead of waiting to talk to them, she called up everyone who had a phone. 

"Huh? No, I haven't used them, Bulma. Hey, 18, Marron, have you used the Dragon Ball recently? Nope, not us. Why? . . . Oh man, that sucks. I'm sorry. Wish we could be of more help. I don't think Yamcha has either, but you'll have to ask him." 

"Uh, no, Bulma, I haven't made any wishes. I know how important those balls are if anything bad happens, so I'd never use them when there's no telling when something bad might happen again. And if I did want to use them, I'd go to you for help, you know? . . . I'll ask Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu for you, I'm seeing them later today. Oh, and Oolong and Puar too. Yeah, I'll call you back as soon as I know." 

"Oh, hey, Bulma? Hm? Dragon Balls? Can't say I have. No, this old man has everything he need on this island. Why? . . . Oh no! I'm sorry about that. If I can be of any help, you let me know."

"Huh? Now this is a surprise. Didn't think I'd ever hear from you.... Hm? No, haven't used the Dragon Balls. As much as I appreciate Krillin bringing me back to life, I don't believe in using magic to get what I want. Well, good luck." 

The Sons unfortunately just weren't picking up. At first, Bulma was very frustrated with that, but she took a breath and told herself that 1) Goku never answered the phone, Chichi or Gohan did. 2) Goten had a cell phone but if it wasn't Trunks or Tenshi, the likelihood that he'd respond was slim to start with. 3) All of them had been busy with Gohan and the aftermath of Piccolo, Dominion, and Tenshi leaving for New Namek. 

Bulma thought Gohan was bouncing back as well as could be expected. She hadn't really seen the man since Tenshi's birthday, but she had heard through the grapevine that Gohan had sought out therapy to learn how to control his anger and anxiety and deal with the guilt he felt over almost accidentally killing his youngest. She didn't know more than that, though. 

She'd just have to hear from them in person. 

Yamcha called her back. 

"Nope, Tenshinhan, Oolong, Puar, and Chiaotzu have no idea who could've used the Dragon Balls. Who have you asked by now?" 

"Krillin and his family, you, Vegeta, Master Roshi, even 17. I haven't been able to get into contact with Goku or Gohan or Chichi or Goten. And I doubt Piccolo used them, since he's _not here_. But I can ask since he'll be back with Tenshi and Dominion very shortly. Their check-ups are due very soon. 

"Are you gonna tell Gohan when they'll be there?" 

"I . . . haven't decided. And it's not like they won't be able to sense their ki when they come back.... I'll wait and see. I might not have to." 

"True.... You be safe, all right?" 

"I will, thanks Yamcha." 

Bulma groaned as she hung up. She threw herself onto the couch and groaned some more. 

She was just worried about her child. 

 

Gohan felt Piccolo's, Tenshi's, and Dominion's ki signals as he exited the building his therapist's office was in. 

He took a sharp intake of breath, then reminded himself to actually breathe. Do the breathing exercises they were going over in therapy. 

Mindfulness was the first module in the dialectical behavior therapy he had signed up for. (DBT for short.) Mindfulness was a lot like meditation, so due to his martial arts background it hadn't been difficult. What was difficult was the radical acceptance part of the emotion regulation module he was currently working on and had just started. Complete and total acceptance of things the way they are. There's nothing he or anyone else could do about the facts of the situation. 

The facts were that he had driven his family away due to his own inability to let go and let things be outside of his control. Due to his anger. He had almost killed his youngest child in a fit of rage where he had lost all control of himself. 

The control freak had lost control of himself and his temper. Heh. If Gohan hadn't known that the gods in Otherworld and Dende actually had very little to say about what did and didn't happen in the world, he'd have thought his life had been purposefully constructed for that dramatic irony. 

Granted . . . . He looked down at his arm. The prosthetic one. 

The gods did seem to have more say in what happened than he had previously thought.... 

He wasn't sure he was ready to face Piccolo again. Or his children. But he missed them dearly. He hadn't improved enough to make it up to them, but he could at least show them that he was trying.... He wouldn't ask them to stay, but he would show them that he loved them enough to work on changing. 

Gohan took flight, pulling out his cell phone to call Chichi and let her know what he was doing. 

Goten and Goku felt their ki signals too, and they reported back to Chichi that they were back on Earth around the same time Gohan called Chichi. 

"In that case, we'll meet you there," Chichi said. 

She hung up with Gohan, then turned to Goku. 

"Well, teleport us there, then. I want to see my grandchildren in case they leave again after seeing their dad." 

Goku had no objections to that, so with Goten and Chichi by his side, clinging to his clothes, he teleported them to the Briefs. 

It took Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion still a while to reach the Briefs. They weren't crash-landing after all, and Piccolo had managed to pull off being a decent pilot. (With Dominion sitting next to him, reading the manual and having a one-sided discussion about how this ship that the Briefs created was different from the generic mainstream manufactured spaceship that he read lots about in his books. So really, Dominion piloted, Piccolo just pressed the buttons he told him to.) 

So Goku, Chichi, and Goten were already there when Piccolo, Tenshi, and Dominion landed and got out of the spaceship. Dominion had to get his land-legs back, as did Piccolo, but Tenshi somehow managed to keep her balance pretty well. 

Tenshi figured it was because she already felt so off-balance as it was. 

Goku, Chichi, Goten, Trunks, Bulma, Vegeta, Dr. Briefs, Mrs. Briefs, and Bra all stood in the yard as they watched the three Namekians exit the space ship. Trunks hurried to Tenshi and threw his arms around her. Tenshi hugged him back, but it was lackluster. Warmth finally said hello for the first time in a month to Trunks, and Tenshi felt like there was something heavy on her chest. Sweat started to drip down the back of her neck, and it reminded her of Hammer's hand on her neck as Hammer showed how they use their tongue on Namek. 

Trunks wasn't sure how, but he could feel her inner turmoil. It was perplexing, but he somehow knew it had to do with what happened on New Namek. 

He smiled at her, trying to be comforting. 

"I've missed you." 

"Yeah...." 

It was awkward, and Trunks waited, but there was no 'I missed you too.' Just a troubled look on her face. 

That was worrying. 

"My turn," Goten said after giving them a moment. He hugged Tenshi too, and Tenshi hugged him back. For some reason, Goten's hug didn't have nearly the same effect as Trunks's. 

It was really weird, and Tenshi was getting really worried about what all of it meant. 

Dominion's check-up was first. Tenshi sat in the living room with Trunks, Goten, and Bra, as she waited for her turn. Piccolo caught up with Chichi, Goku, and Bulma, telling them about how it was on New Namek. 

"Huh? What's an . . . orgy?" Goku asked while Chichi and Bulma stared at him, wide-eyed. 

"Are you _serious_?" Bulma asked, mouth falling open. "I never would've pegged them as _kinky_!" 

Piccolo shuddered. "I mean, it's their culture, I guess, so whatever, but they didn't have to look so damn _surprised_ I didn't want to take part." 

"Well, marriage isn't a thing in space," Vegeta said, sitting down. "You shouldn't be _that_ surprised that non-Earthlings don't expect you to be doing what we call monogamy. Even Saiyans had multiple lovers, just not all at once. It was odd if their partnerships lasted more than a week, however." 

"And we were aware that they were polyamorous, remember? Dende told us?" Goku said.

"I _know_ that, but - !" Piccolo protested, but he cut himself short and bowed his head a little. 

It was an elephant in the room that Piccolo and Gohan even weren't having sex, and no one was really willing to talk about that at all. 

At least, Chichi, Bulma, Vegeta, and Piccolo weren't willing to. 

"You know, not wanting sex isn't that weird, Piccolo. You shouldn't have to feel bad about it," Goku said. 

Piccolo turned a bright purple color in the face, and the children caught wind of the conversation and looked over at them. 

"S-shut up, Goku." 

"No, really. I mean, sure, it's kinda fun, but it's pretty easy to live without for me. If that's how it is for you too, then that's just how you are. And Gohan doesn't mind, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Right?" 

"Wait, so, that's normal?" piped up Goten, eyes widening. 

The adults looked over at them. 

"You mean it's . . . _normal_ not to be interested in sex at all?" 

"Yeah, 'course it is," Goku said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

For Goten, it was like some storm clouds had gone away and birds had started to sing. 

"And - and both you and Piccolo are like that, too?" 

"Yeah...." Goku seemed to be a little slow on the uptake that Goten was saying he was asexual too and that he hadn't known that was a normal state of being and that he was going through something really important for him right then. 

Piccolo however felt a bit of pride in his heart for Goten. That must've been difficult, dealing with that on his own and with Tenshi and Trunks for friends. 

Bulma, however, thought of something, and it wasn't sitting right with her. 

"Wait, so if there was a big village orgy on New Namek, then what were Tenshi and Dominion doing?" 

"Uh, Dominion was with the other kids, getting babysat," Piccolo said. 

Tenshi tensed, knowing where this was going. 

"And Tenshi?" 

"Uh.... She had gone with me, but . . . ." 

The adults looked over at Tenshi, Bulma's expression clearly saying she was expecting to hear something none of them would like. Piccolo, Chichi, and Goku, however, just looked curious. As did Trunks and Goten, but Vegeta was pretending to act like he wasn't interested. 

"I was with Hammer," Tenshi said. "We didn't really . . . participate in the big . . . thing. . . ." 

"The birth control guy?" Goten asked, his face taking on a suspicious expression.

"The _village healer_ , yes. We were staying with him while we were there," Tenshi said. 

"Oh! So you two were staying home while that was going on, good," Chichi said, smiling. 

Tenshi did not correct her. 

Goten was still giving her a suspicious look. 

Trunks was looking at her, trying to figure out what was going on in his stomach. 

Tenshi knew he was looking at her, and her own stomach was twisting and turning, and she felt like she could throw up. 

"Hey, um, can I talk to you in private for a minute, Trunks?" Tenshi asked. 

"Sure," Trunks said, his stomach twisting along with hers, though he didn't know it. 

Goten had a sinking feeling as they got up and went off to another room to talk. 

"Where're they going?" Bra asked. 

"Who knows. You want to play cards?" 

"Sure!" Bra said. 

Tenshi took a deep breath. It was best to just spit it out. 

"I did something bad," she said. 

Trunks swallowed hard, anger starting to burn inside him. Not at her. 

"I cheated on you with the village healer on Namek." 

He was angry at him. That . . . Hammer guy. His hands balled into fists. 

"You . . . you two - ?" 

"Mouth-to-mouth.... Alcohol was involved, but I know that's not an excuse. I don't even really know why I did it...." 

Trunks thought back to Goku and Piccolo talking, about how Namekians as a species were polyamorous. And that while Piccolo was asexual and only interested in being with Gohan, that didn't mean . . . . 

Tears were pricking Trunks's eyes, and Tenshi saw them and felt worse. 

"I - I know you've been through a lot, and then you weren't here, and - and I couldn't be there for you when you were hurting. Over the baby and over your dad...." Trunks said, rationalizing it in his head. "I can't pretend to know what any of that is like." He had heard things about how his own dad used to be, and he knew that baby would have been his, but he hadn't known about it, Gohan had flipped the fuck out, and . . . even though they were both involved in it, there was no comparing their situations. The baby had just been barely an idea to him. She had held the egg in her hands and panicked over it and then had to be told it was dead.... "I'm not mad and - and I forgive you, even, and I know we can work past that. I love you and want to be with you always, and I'm willing to do anything to help you." 

None of that made Tenshi feel better. 

"I don't know if you can help me, Trunks.... I've - I've been feeling so weird and strange ever since - ever since that time we fused and then un-fused without being able to control it, ever since the baby and ever since Dad. I feel so - so _heavy_ and off-balance and _overheated_ and I don't really want to be around anyone. The only time it feels like a weight is being lifted is when I'm training, so that's _all_ I've been doing, even when I feel bad for not practicing my painting and - and I don't even know what's _wrong_ because everything that happened is _bad_ but I started feeling this way before all of that and I don't know what to do - !" 

She was starting to cry too. 

Trunks pulled her into his arms, and she let him, wanting the comfort, but hating the feeling of more weight being put on her. His embrace felt like a hundred extra pounds were being placed right in the middle of her body on the inside, and it was very unpleasant. 

"I've been feeling weird, too. Really clingy and cold, and nothing makes the cold go away. Nothing but holding you close to me. I don't understand it, and I hate it, I can't do _anything_ without freezing and feeling like my world is falling apart when you aren't there. It's not normal, it didn't feel this way before. I _don't understand_ \- !" 

Tenshi sniffed and pulled away from him, wiping at her face. 

"Should - should we break up? At least until we figure this out?" 

"No!" Trunks said, too quickly. "No, we should work this out together!" 

"But if we go back to New Namek - " 

"Do you want to go back?" 

". . . No. Not really. I think Dominion liked it up there, though...." 

"Tenshi? Where are you? It's time for your check-up," Dr. Briefs said. 

Tenshi shook her head, then finished wiping her face. 

"Coming." 

She left to go find Dr. Briefs, leaving Trunks in the room alone with his thoughts. 

As Tenshi went to the examination room for her check-up, everyone who could sense ki felt Gohan's ki signal approach Capsule Corp. 

Gohan touched down and took a deep breath. Then he cautiously approached the front door and knocked. 

Vegeta went to answer it. 

"Tenshi's having her check-up, the others are in the living room," Vegeta said curtly. 

Gohan nodded toward him, then took his time getting to the living room. 

"Hi...." Gohan said, not hesitantly.

Chichi, Goku, and Bulma "conveniently" came up with reasons to let Piccolo and Gohan be alone, taking Goten and Bra with them. Vegeta simply leaned against the wall, not caring. 

"Hi...." Piccolo said back. 

The silence was awkward, but Piccolo watched as emotion welled up in Gohan. He watched and felt the man's ki fluctuate, and he watched as Gohan did his best to keep his emotions under reign. Piccolo felt the ki move up and down as he struggled to keep himself under control. 

"I'm sorry...." Gohan said, tears welling up in his eyes. 

And Piccolo knew that Gohan meant it. 

Piccolo could see and feel that Gohan wasn't just saying that and not going to try to do better. He could watch him doing better, in that moment. 

"I know." Piccolo let there be a pause. He hadn't . . . forgiven him quite yet, but. . . . "I don't want to stay away if I don't have to." 

He still loved Gohan. He always had. The only people he loved more than Gohan were their children. 

While he had once thought about it, he knew that he could never have loved Chichi the way he loved Gohan. This was where he belonged. Here, on Earth, with Gohan and with his children. 

He was a Namekian, but he did not belong on New Namek. 

He belonged here. 

"I want you to be able to stay," Gohan said. 

Piccolo nodded. "I know." 

"I'm going to do my best not to be someone you have to run away from." 

"I believe you." 

Piccolo smiled at Gohan. 

"C'mere," he said. 

Gohan went to him, and Piccolo hugged him, and Gohan hugged back tightly. 

When Dr. Briefs was finished with her, Tenshi came out and saw that her parents had made up. 

"We're moving back," Piccolo said. 

"All right," Tenshi said, not sure how to feel about that. 

Dominion seemed to have forgiven Gohan very easily. The boy was already hugging his father and sitting in his lap and telling him all about New Namek and the friends he had made up there. 

Tenshi didn't know if she could forgive him or if she wanted to. 

But going back home was easier than to keep talking to Trunks about what they were going to do.


	70. Colors by Halsey (Tenshi, Piccolo)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the "Developmentally Disabled Son Goku" tag really comes in. Now, I use that tag regardless of whether or not I focus on the Traumatic Brain Injury he sustained when he was a baby because it's canon but most of the fandom ignores the fact that that makes him a DD character. So I use the tag to hit you over the head with it, so to speak. As an autistic person, the fact that Goku is DD means a lot to me, and my fan fiction is my way of making sure none of you forget it, even if you don't like it. Now, in this fic, I've embellished a couple things, mostly in regards to Goku and his perception of Tenshi's artwork. I don't actually think he has that much difficulty looking at pictures, but it works thematically for me in WAWO. So . . . keep that in mind.

Goku was feeling restless. 

The tension in the house had been lifted some, but in other ways it was thicker. Tenshi radiated such a strong aura that it was hard not to feel the distrust in her heart and the unbalance of her ki. Goku couldn't quite understand why he was the only one picking up on it. 

He hadn't noticed it before they had left, but now that they were back, Goku started to wonder if it had happened while they were gone or if it was getting stronger as time wore on. 

Goku still couldn't make out the bird in Tenshi's artwork very well. It just looked like splotches of color and weird shapes at first glace. 

"I mean, yeah, that's what it is, ultimately, but you're not supposed to think about it so literally, Grandpa." 

She hadn't worked on any new artwork, but after Goku had found the one of the bird in the cage, he had taken it out of the study room and hung it up on the wall, surprising everyone else. 

He looked at it too literally every time he looked at it, but it was his favorite piece of artwork in the whole world. 

He wished she'd paint one where the bird got to leave the cage and fly into the sky. As a kind of sequel to the first one. 

But he liked that she was training, too. He understood training better. 

Training with Tenshi helped him not be so restless. 

But he could feel that she was restless too. 

Punch, block, kick, block, jab, dodge, run after each other, punch, kick, dodge, swipe, duck, punch. 

She wasn't even really thinking about her movements. She just let her body move however it wanted, and it was giving her a freedom with her precision and energy conservation that he hadn't seen from her before. She had improved so much in just a month, and he was impressed. 

Gohan and Piccolo were slowly getting back to normal, holding hands and talking in low voices to each other. Dominion was studying once again, with Chichi keeping an eye on his readings and grading his homework and being very proud of him. Goten was being his usual teenage self, though he seemed to be on the phone with Trunks more than before. 

The coolness and tension from Chichi remained the same, and it was something Goku didn't want to deal with at all. Just being in the same room as her was too awkward for him. He knew it was his fault, but he just didn't feel like it was worth it to fix it. 

He wanted to leave again. 

The feeling in his brain was crawling all over inside his cranium, around his brain, squeezing it and making it feel weird and fuzzy. Heavy. 

It was the weirdest headache, but one he was very familiar with. He couldn't even really tell where it was radiating from, but it overtook the whole brain. 

The unsaid emotional tension in the house was making it worse. 

He understood training better. Understood fighting better. Fighting only hurt his head if he took a blow to the head. But that sometimes really did hurt. Hurt so bad he had to grab his head with both hands and shout over it or grit his teeth hard. 

He could sense it. He could sense all of it. Gohan's feelings, Chichi's feelings, Piccolo's, Goten's. He wasn't ignorant of it. But he didn't understand it. He knew it existed, but he didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't see how to fix it, so he didn't bother. He didn't ignore it, but what was he supposed to do about it? It was best just to leave it be. 

It was weird. Tenshi was the most tense of them all, but he somehow felt like he could actually help her. Why was it? 

Was it because he could feel the tension leave her, feel her ki become more balanced, when they were fighting? 

Maybe that was it. Yeah, that was it. 

She was like him. That was why he felt like he could help her. That was why he felt such a connection with his granddaughter. 

She was like him. 

Her body hurt, and his head hurt, and they fought through the pain, they fought to alleviate the pain. Even when fighting made the pain worse. Because what else were they supposed to do? 

Tenshi fell out of her martial art form and technique and beat the front of Goku's chest with frenzied frustration, pounding her fists against him. She screamed through gritted teeth and used him as a punching bag, and he let her. 

When she ran out of steam, she stepped away from him and walked a ways away, then fell to her knees and sat in the grass, staring out in front of her. 

"What is _wrong_ with me?" she asked. 

Goku walked over to her and sat next to her in the grass, not caring about grass stains. 

The stars twinkled above them. Goku looked up at them as he spoke to her. 

"I don't know why, but part of it is that your ki is really out of whack.... It's like it's not yours anymore." 

Tenshi looked over at him. 

"Really?" 

Goku nodded, then looked back at her. 

"When I don't feel like me, I tend to go away. If I'm not doing anything specific, I just stay away as long as I don't feel like myself. Then I come back when I am myself." 

When his brain didn't feel so fuzzy and hurting. He liked it much better when it was clear. He didn't like it when it felt like a blanket had been wrapped around the inside of his skull. 

"But what if I never feel like me again?" Tenshi asked. 

Goku shrugged. Tenshi frowned. 

"I don't like who I am right now...." Tenshi admitted. 

"How come?" Goku asked. 

"The Tenshi I am right now does stupid shit that hurts people.... Goten, Trunks. Dominion. This Tenshi can't lo- can't forgive Dad...." 

Goku's eyes widened. 

"You don't love your dad?" 

Tenshi flinched, and she turned her head away from him. Goku frowned. 

"Tenshi...." 

". . . I hate who I am right now. . . ." 

Goku was silent for a while. 

Tenshi didn't stop there. 

"I don't think I've ever liked me. . . . This Tenshi . . . this Tenshi needed human boys to want to kiss her in order to feel like she was pretty. . . . I'm not nearly as confident as the other me. . . . The other me was obnoxious, but she liked who she was.... Didn't she?" 

"She seemed to, yeah...." 

Tenshi's eyes shed tears, but she did not sob. She held that sound in like her life depended on it. 

". . . Maybe I don't love Dad anymore, but I definitely don't love me...." 

"Well . . . why don't we find a you you do love, then?" 

Tenshi lifted her head. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Let's go find one. I'm sure if we travel enough, you'll find a you inside yourself that you really, really like. There are a lot of people we know who found better selves by making new friends and going places. Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Vegeta, your mom.... I'm sure if we go on an adventure, you'll find a you you like, too." 

Tenshi stared at Goku for a long moment, weighing what he was saying. 

"You . . . you really think so, Grandpa?" 

Goku nodded. 

"I really do. And when we come back, you'll be your Very Best You and be able to make it up to everybody." 

". . . Think you'll ever make it up to Grandma?" 

"If I ever think of how, yeah." 

"What do you mean how?" 

"Eh heh. I'll be honest, I've never understood her. I've done a lot of just agreeing with her and gentle nudges to get her permission to do things to prevent her getting angry and trying to see what would make her happy, but I don't . . . understand why some things upset her and why other things don't. Except for stuff that's involved in keeping you kids safe, I've never understood any of it. It doesn't make any more sense coming from Bulma or Krillin or anybody else.... I dunno, maybe I've just let her down or maybe I'm not trying hard enough...." But sometimes trying to figure Chichi out made the bad brain feeling come back, and then he'd disappear, and then she'd be angry all over again.... 

"Does that bother you?" Tenshi asked. 

Goku thought about it. 

"I don't like that she's sad. But she also doesn't just explain why she's sad. Y'know? She's kinda like your dad in that way...." 

"I think they're just mad you leave in the first place...." 

"Oh. Well . . . I guess that's just something we'll just have to deal with." 

"Really? That's it?" 

Goku shrugged. 

"If the problem is me leaving, then . . . that's just the way it'll have to be. I leave 'cause sometimes I have to. Even if they don't understand why." 

"But why do you leave? You said to feel more like yourself, but . . . is that really the only reason?" 

"Well . . . yeah. I mean, part of becoming more like myself is to learn new martial art moves. And the last time I was gone, I was finding out what could help you become a better you. A happier you. You are happier now that you know the fusion and can fight all out through fusion, right?" 

". . . For the most part, yeah.... I don't think I'll be fusing again, though...." 

"But you liked the fighting." 

"Yeah." 

"So was me leaving really that bad?" 

". . . For Dad and Grandma, it was...." 

"But what about you?" 

". . . . I felt like it was my fault. My fault that they were sad...." 

Goku furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Why would it be your fault?" 

"Because you left because of me.... Because of my stupid painting and feelings.... And you being gone hurt them." 

"That's not your fault, though. I made that decision. That's not your fault." 

Tenshi leaned into Goku, and Goku put his arm around her. 

"It was for your benefit, but people getting hurt by me not being here is not ever your fault. And sometimes . . . sometimes we have to take care of ourselves first before we can take care of anybody else. And if my brain is making me feel like I'm not me - or if you don't like yourself - how can either of us be expected to take care of anybody else? If we're not ourselves, then what good are we?" 

It made sense to Goku. Goku was so sure he was making sense. 

Perhaps Tenshi just wanted an excuse to leave. She wasn't sure. 

"You really think it's okay to leave?" 

"Well. We should probably leave a note or something. Don't want your parents freaking out." 

"Yeah...." 

"But yeah, I think going on an adventure would do you a lot of good," Goku said. 

Tenshi stood up. 

"Then let's do it. I'll grab my oxygen refills." 

Tenshi didn't have it in her to explain to the rest of the family what they were doing. 

"Tenshi?" Dominion said, watching her grab her things. 

"I'm going off with Grandpa for a while. Tell Mom and Dad not to worry and that we'll be back soon." 

"But where're you going?" 

"Somewhere interesting. Probably a place to train." 

"Wait... Wait!" 

Goku and Tenshi teleported away, Dominion's shouts alerting the rest of the house what was happening. 

"Don't leave with a poor explanation like that! Where are you going!?" 

"We'll be back!" Goku's words were the last thing Gohan, Piccolo, and Chichi heard from either of them as they vanished. 

"What the fuck!?" Gohan said, his voice strained; he struggled to monitor his own emotions as he started to enter panic mode. 

Chichi groaned with frustration, anger at Goku rising. 

Piccolo knew his daughter wasn't in danger, but this really was the last thing they needed.


	71. Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men (Tenshi, Gohan, Chichi)

By the time that the Dragon Balls returned, Tenshi and Goku were still gone. 

Trunks's coping mechanism for Tenshi completely disappearing after talking about wanting to break up with him was ineffective, but predictable. 

Despite the incurable coldness that had crawled underneath his skin, he had ramped up the heater in the Gravity Room and turned the gravity level up and punched the shit out of several training robots and punching bags. His interest in training had been burned anew, though Vegeta wasn't happy with the reason why. 

There was no desire to get stronger. It was not a Saiyan motivation, but a human one. 

It would not last, and Vegeta knew it. 

When the dragon balls reappeared on the Dragon Radar, Bulma had wasted no time in retrieving the balls, but without Goku around to get them in a hurry, it took longer than she had been hoping, even with the help of Vegeta and Yamcha and Krillin. 

When they officially gathered the balls all together, Goten was there as well. Gohan and Piccolo both had work, and Dominion had become significantly less interested in leaving his study room since Tenshi left. (It was as though if he didn't leave the room, he could pretend everything was fine.) Trunks was wearing the heaviest coat he owned and thick gloves and a scarf, despite the weather being very warm outside. 

"Eternal Dragon, come forth!" Bulma shouted, holding her hands over the dragon balls. 

The balls glowed, and Shenron burst forth into the air, coiling around in the air and hovered above them. 

"State your wish." 

"I wish for whatever is causing my son, Trunks Briefs, to be absolutely freezing in the middle of summer to be fixed!" 

Shenron's eyes glowed, then they died down. 

"It is the result of the last wish I granted. I am not in a position to rectify the situation at this time." 

"WHAT!?" 

Goten paled. 

"Wh-what do you mean it's a result of your last wish!?" Goten shouted, stepping forward. 

Everyone turned to look at him except for Bulma. Vegeta had been about to shout the exact same thing. Something about the boy's tone of voice made Vegeta suspicious. 

Shenron stared down at Goten. He looked familiar.... Oh yes. Now he knew why. 

"The wish that you made last, Son Goten, was to force a de-fusion of a fusion warrior. While you did not specify whether or not they should not be able to re-fuse afterwards, your wish did imply that you did not want them fusing any time soon. So, to fulfill the wish, I defused them improperly. Leaving a part of one of them attached to the other, even in their de-fused state." 

Goten's eyes widened. This . . . this was his fault? 

"Wh- _what_!?" Trunks said, his teeth chattering and his blood starting to boil. 

"What the hell, Goten!?" Bulma shouted, shocked at the revelation. 

Vegeta frowned, though he could understand why the boy would have done something like that. 

"Wait, you mean - ?!" Goten started, but Shenron spoke. 

"One has an extra part and the other is missing a part of themselves. That is what is creating the imbalance, messing with their equilibrium. Thus making fusion undesirable. Thus preventing the fusion. It is not impossible to overcome that imbalance should the need arise, but it will limit the amount of fusing. When they fuse back together, however, their parts will realign properly and a voluntary defusion will return the Two who make One to their normal states. But as this is the direct result of my last wish, I am not responsible for the effects of the defusion and cannot intervene with the consequences." 

"But - but Tenshi's not here! They can't fuse if she's not here! Can you bring her back here!?" Goten asked, taking strides towards the dragon. He had to be able to bring her here, he had to, he was a magic dragon and if that was the only way to get both Tenshi and Trunks back to normal - ! What if everything that was bothering Tenshi since before the loss of the baby was resolved and she could stay home and - !? 

"I cannot bring her here. She is refusing to be transferred." 

Goten took a few steps back. What? 

"But - but you're a magic dragon! You can do anything, can't you!?" 

"To do something without the consent of those affected is unjust. The defusion was capable in the first place due to a lack of desire to stay fused. The fusion occurred outside of your control, correct?" 

"Y-yes, Shenron...." Trunks admitted, his teeth chattering more. 

"Even your wish to defuse them would have been impossible had they not, on some level, wanted to be de-fused. Even if only one of them wanted to defuse, that would have been enough for me. But if they had both wanted to stay fused, I would not have been able to stop that. I am magic, but I am not all-powerful. You will just have to wait for Tenshi to return." 

Bulma grabbed her hair and made motions to rip it out, but refrained from it. 

"Then what good are you!?" she yelled. 

"If you do not have any other wishes, then I will leave." 

" _Fine! Go!_ " 

Shenron then disappeared, and the dragon balls lay on the ground, still dragon balls due to not using any wishes. 

Goten turned to look at Trunks. 

"Trunks, I'm sor - !" 

"Shut up, Goten!" 

Trunks had been freezing for months now. It was unbearable. He couldn't stand it any longer, and it seemed like he would always be this way as long as Tenshi wasn't here...! And this was _Goten's fault_! 

He didn't really want to be angry at Goten, but _this wasn't fair!_

"You made a _wish_ to make us _defuse_!? A wish that ultimately made her run away with your _dad_!?" 

"I - I didn't mean for that to happen! I just wanted you two to pay attention to me again! Ever since you two started dating and fusing, the only people you've been acknowledging exist are each other! I was sick of it! But I didn't want anyone to get hurt by it! How was I supposed to know this would happen!?" 

"You could've just _fucking talked to us about it_ instead of _pulling out the dragon balls and making a wish you couldn't take back_!" 

Goten flinched as though his words were an actual attack to his physical person. 

"You're always doing that! Never talking about how you feel or what you want to do and just holing up in your room, listening to that heavy metal noise instead of _just talking about it_ and letting yourself stew when you don't have to!" 

"You - would you have even listened to me if I tried!?" Goten lashed out back. 

" _We'd have known the answer if you had even tried!_ " 

Bulma and Vegeta let the boys fight, unsure of how to handle the situation any better. Bulma and Vegeta knew Goten hadn't meant to do anything wrong, but Vegeta knew that if he didn't keep his anger at the situation in check, he would do something he'd regret. And Gohan's own anger management was not at a place that could handle both the loss of his daughter _and_ his little brother getting beaten up by a family friend. It was in everyone's best interests if Vegeta stayed out of it. 

Bulma honestly wanted to yell at Goten, but Trunks already was, and she felt like that would've been overkill. 

In the end, Trunks stormed back into the Gravity Room, and Goten was left standing in the front yard of Capsule Corp. Tears were pricking Goten's eyes. 

Yamcha and Krillin stood super awkwardly on the sidelines. Yamcha went over to Goten and reached out to touch his shoulder. 

"Hey - " he started, speaking softly, but Goten took off into the air and flew away before Yamcha's hand could actually touch Goten's shoulder. 

Goten went back home and slammed the door behind him, startling Chichi and Dominion. 

"Goten, what - ?" Chichi asked, but Goten went to her and hugged her tightly, starting to cry into her shoulder. 

Without asking any more questions, Chichi wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. She waited for him to cry it out, then she listened as Goten confessed to her what he had done and what Shenron had said about Trunks's and Tenshi's problems and how it was all his fault. 

"Oh, honey...." Chichi said, unsure of what to do or say. 

Dammit, Goku. You just had to take her away with you, didn't you? Chichi thought to herself. 

She blamed Tenshi leaving on Goku more than anybody. Not this fusion gone wrong. Not even on Trunks and Tenshi having relationship problems. All on Goku. 

Goten, on the other hand, blamed himself now, and it was too much for him to handle. 

Days of Goten moping in his room turned into weeks, and Chichi decided to surprise him with his birthday present early. 

She pushed the door to his bedroom open, then stepped right in, holding it in her hands. 

"Goten? I have something for you." 

Goten lifted his head off of the pillow and turned it to look at her. 

His eyes widened, and he sat up as he saw what she was holding. 

"Mom, are you sure?" 

He knew that guitar was expensive. 

"I knew you wanted it, and with your birthday coming up.... But I felt like you needed it more now." 

Goten accepted the gift. 

It didn't make the guilt or emptiness inside go away, but it gave him something to do during this period of keeping to himself, alone in his room, with one friend angry at him and the other gone off to who knows where.


	72. L Is For Loser by Lee Harding (Goten, Tenshi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marron in this chapter (and fic) is entirely jasjuliet's fault. http://jasjuliet.tumblr.com/post/133980103437/in-which-goten-and-trunks-are-instahoes-who-post Her Marron is beautiful and fantastic and I just had to include it. Just had to, my heart gave me no choice in the matter.

Two years passed. Two years, and no word from Goku or Tenshi. Goten spent his eighteenth and nineteenth birthday with just his mother, brother, brother-in-law, and nephew. Trunks turned nineteen and twenty and was getting used to always being freezing. It was hard not to get used to it when it was a constant state of being. Some days were worse than others, but he made it work. Somehow. 

Goten and Trunks didn't really have a make-up period. They just eventually started talking to each other again. But they weren't nearly as close as they used to be. 

Fox and Chrome popped back into Goten's life as they somehow got his phone number and were texting him all the time, trying to get him to do video game tournaments and concerts with them. When Chrome found out that Goten had gotten a guitar between the last time they saw each other and the next time, she had immediately put Goten into contact with some buddies of hers. 

Goten stood before them, his guitar in hand, flushing a little bit and nervous as all get out. 

"Ch-Chrome didn't tell me you guys were a _band_ , she just said she wanted me to meet friends of hers...." 

There was some laughter. 

"That's what she always says. It's her recruitment strategy." 

"O-oh.... How do you know her again?" 

The lead singer pointed to the drummer. "She's his girlfriend." 

"Ah." 

"But don't sweat it. All you have to do is play a little for us, we'll see if we like it, and even if it doesn't work out, you can still hang. We'll order pizza and get to know each other better." 

Goten nodded, then dug his guitar pick out of his back pocket. He took a deep breath, then struck a cord. 

 

Trunks, on the other hand, had not been reaching out to people outside of the Z-warrior circle. This meant he was now hanging out with Marron. 

Due to the three of them having been so into each other growing up, Trunks, Goten, and Tenshi really hadn't paid much attention to Marron, despite Marron being Krillin's daughter and Krillin being so close to Goku and Gohan and Piccolo. But after Krillin and 18 visited with Bulma one day not long after he and Goten had their falling out, Trunks and Marron had caught up and started training together. 

Marron had inherited her father's stocky build, though she was still taller than him. She cut her hair short, and she had done quite well for herself in the body-building department. She was super strong and looked it. It was pretty impressive for a sixteen-year-old. Marron also happened to like the same kind of music as he did, and thanks to a CD she had brought over, they discovered Vegeta also was willing to allow Missy Elliot in the GR. 

When Marron and Trunks weren't training, Trunks let Marron hang out with him in the lab. He had started college and was currently in a robotics engineering program, though he was double-majoring in physics. It resulted in Trunks not having a lot of free time, but having Marron in the lab with him while he did his homework kept him entertained.

Trunks and Marron had just left the lab and headed for the kitchen, Marron musing aloud about how she had a hankering for an udon noodle bowl and how she'd be more than happy to show Trunks how to make it, when they found both Vegeta and Bulma in the kitchen, yelling at each other. 

"That's crazy! Absolutely crazy!" 

"We've tried it your way, now we're doing it my way!" 

"But Vegeta, no one is going to understand that, and if they don't understand, they won't go along with it!" 

"Then I'll make them understand it!" 

Bulma crossed her arms. "Besides, you have to make Trunks agree to it, too, and there's no way _that_ is happening." 

"What do I have to agree to?" Trunks interrupted. 

Both of them looked over at Trunks. Vegeta straightened up and put a hand on his hip. 

"Trunks! Do you still consider Tenshi your girlfriend?" 

Trunks bristled a bit. 

"N-no," Trunks said, in a way that implied that he felt differently about the matter but wasn't willing to admit it.

"So then you'd have no objections to an arranged marriage?" 

Trunks and Marron stared at Vegeta like there were lobsters crawling out of his ears. 

"Excuse me?" Trunks said. 

"I have decided to arrange for a tournament so that the _many_ women vying for your hand in marriage online can compete and the winner gets to be your future wife. I understand you might not be ready for that, however - " 

"I-is arranged marriages how it worked on Planet Vegeta?" Trunks asked hesitantly. 

"No, marriage wasn't a thing on Planet Vegeta, but I've been on this planet long enough to know that's how it's done for the royalty on this planet." 

" _I'm not human royalty, though, Dad_! Arranged marriages are a thing of the past, no one does them anymore." 

"Yeah, Mister Vegeta. People are just gonna think that's weird. Even if the girls _are_ into it...." 

"I don't want this bloodline to end here." 

"Bra will grow up eventually and probably have children!" Trunks said. 

Vegeta grunted, then turned away from them and headed out of the kitchen. 

Bulma frowned. 

"He's so stubborn!" Bulma complained. 

Marron and Trunks exchanged looks. 

"He's not really gonna organize something like that. Right?" Marron asked. 

"I hope not...." Trunks said. But he had a bad feeling about it.

Vegeta had come a long way since he first arrived on Earth. Especially in his ability to use the computer and the Internet. It used to be that he constantly needed Bulma's or Dr. Briefs's help with it, or even Trunks's when he was a child. But now, he knew how to browse the Internet just fine and could buy things online. 

And in this case, post on Yousuke's List. 

His posting read thusly: 

_At the beginning of next month, there will be held a tournament on Capsule Corp property. All entrants must be capable of bearing children. The winner of the tournament will be given Trunks Briefs's hand in marriage._

It didn't have any other information other than that, but the responses he obtained through Yousuke's List was staggering. 

A tournament they certainly would have.

The news outlets had gotten wind of the tournament and run wild with it, especially on TV channels and websites that specialized in celebrities and rich people. But outside of listening to Trunks moan and groan about it, Goten hadn't expected to be at all involved in it beyond trying to be supportive of Trunks. He was going to _be_ there, but the letter that came in the mail was very unexpected, and Goten really didn't know what to think about it. 

The letter read: 

_Boy. The tournament needs a soundtrack. Bring your band._

How. How did Vegeta even know Goten had gotten into that band? Why was this happening? 

"Uh, Trunks?" Goten said when he called Trunks up. 

"What?" 

"Uh.... Y'know how I said I would be sitting right next to you as you're forced to experience that tournament?" 

"Yeah.... You're not backing out, are you!?" 

"N-no, not backing out.... I'm still coming...." 

"So what's with the phone call?" 

"Um.... Your . . . your dad is demanding I provide background music with the band...." 

All Goten could hear was Trunks's miserable groaning on the other end. The groaning got progressively louder as Goten continued to listen.

"Haven't we as a group already learned that forcing your children to do something is just a bad idea period?" Piccolo asked as he sat next to Gohan in the audience in the arena that Vegeta and Dr. Briefs had put together. Chichi sat on Piccolo's other side, arms crossed and sighing heavily. Bulma was on her other side, pouting with her arms crossed. Dominion was on Gohan's other side, and Trunks was beside him. Mrs. Briefs and Dr. Briefs were sitting in the row behind them. 

"Hey!" pipped up Pan's voice, and Dominion and Trunks turned around to see Pan and Videl. 

"Hi, Pan," Dominion said softly. 

They actually hadn't really seen each other since Diablo's tongue had been ripped out. 

"Good luck with getting a good wife, Trunks!" 

"Right. Thanks," Trunks said. 

"You doing okay?" Videl asked. 

"Ehhhh, okay is a strong word right now." 

"He's still waiting for Tenshi to come back," Dominion said. 

"Am not," Trunks lied. 

"Where's Goten?" Pan asked. 

Dominion pointed to across the arena where Goten and the band he was a part of were setting up on a stage. 

"Huh," Videl said. 

"Is there room in your row for us?" Pan asked. 

"Are . . . are you sure?" Dominion asked. 

Gohan could see Videl's hesitancy, and he couldn't blame her. He had never apologized for what he had done, and they hadn't even seen each other until this moment since then. 

"I want us to be friends again," Pan said, looking right at Dominion. "What happened isn't your fault." 

Dominion felt a wave of emotion suddenly crash over him, and his little twelve-year-old heart wasn't quite sure how to handle it. 

"I-if you want to sit here, you can," Dominion said. 

Trunks scooted over to give Pan some room. Videl chose to sit with Dr. and Mrs. Briefs.

Gohan and Piccolo both looked back to glance at Videl, but they both looked away before Videl noticed. 

Vegeta stood at a podium and tapped the microphone. 

"This thing on?" Vegeta said, then heard his voice echo across the arena. He cleared his throat. "Welcome! Today we have gathered to watch the battles of the decade! Fighters of various disciplines have gathered today to seek my son's hand in marriage, Trunks Briefs, the heir to the Capsule Corporation!" 

"This whole thing is weird," Pan said. "What if the person who wins just wants the money?" 

"That is a valid point and consideration," Dominion said. 

"That's more or less why Marron joined in," Trunks said, pointing at Marron down in the throngs of tournament entrants. "She is pretty confident that she can win and that she won't hold Dad's promise against me. 'Sides, we're just friends, so if she wins, there's no real pressure and she can do whatever she wants after." 

Dominion and Pan peered over and saw that Marron was, indeed, competing in the tournament. Marron turned her head to look over at them, then waved at them. Trunks waved back. 

Vegeta started in on the rules, but then he stopped. At first, he was the only one who felt it. But then..... 

Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Marron, Goten, and everyone else who could sense ki snapped their heads up, looking at the sky. 

No. _No._ Not again! 

Soon, the scream was within hearing range. 

"KAAAAAKAAAAAROOOOOOTTTTTTT!" 

"EVERYONE TAKE COVER!" Vegeta shouted into the microphone. 

Broly was coming it at an incredible speed. Trunks and Goten both burst into Super Saiyan mode, as did Vegeta and Gohan, but they remembered what happened last time. Without Tenshi - ! 

Broly came into view - and right down in the middle of the arena, another ki signal sparked to life. 

Goten and Gohan stared, eyes wide. 

"Dad!?" 

Goku got into a stance, bursting into his Super Saiyan form. 

"I'm right here, you big muscle-head!" Goku shouted. 

Broly spotted Goku, then flew right down at him. The force of the colliding of their energies created a push-back of energy that sent debris and people flying away from the center of the arena. 

The others who could fly and fight were then stuck trying to keep everyone else from getting injured. Everything was happening so fast! 

Broly and Goku exchanged blows, Goku having increased in power so much in the last two years. His ki kept rising to new heights the others hadn't felt before, but it seemed that Broly was still stronger yet, which was absolutely astounding. 

Broly grabbed Goku and smashed their foreheads together repeatedly. At first Goku didn't scream, but after the fourth one he did, and the scream didn't stop, even after Broly let go of Goku and started to grab his own head. Goku fell to the ground, holding his head and screamed, screamed, screamed, and Broly's own screaming started to mix in with his. 

Goku got back onto his feet, eyes unfocused, and he barraged Broly with punches. Broly responded by throwing a one hell of a right hook. It threw Goku back several feet, but Goku ran right back at him. 

Neither stopped screaming. 

Above in the air, there was a spaceship that was careening into the area at speeds no Earth spaceship or plane was capable of. It made a very sudden halt in the sky, just above Goku and Broly. 

The top of it opened, and out jumped a figure, decked out in white boots, white gloves, white chest armor, a white tool-belt, what seemed to be a white armored codpiece, and two white items that went over the ears. 

Trunks's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. 

Tenshi struck a pose, index fingers in the air, back turned to the enemy, one foot on tip-toe, and head looking over the shoulder. 

"Son Tenshi, Galactic Patrolman!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Jaco the Galactic Patrolman wears BETTER BE A UNIFORM or else I have dressed Tenshi in this hideous thing FOR NOTHING. CODPIECES AREN'T PRETTY but I had to give her something that looked like it would've gone with the rest of the rather minimalist uniform. 
> 
> Also, I know this is a pretty rushed chapter but . . . I honestly don't know how to get around that without giving myself a bigger headache than I think it's worth. But everything that has happened . . . has a point. I'm just gonna leave it at that.


	73. Back in Black by AC/DC (Goten, Tenshi)

Tenshi immediately dropped the pose, then scanned the crowd. She found Trunks, and their eyes locked. 

Tenshi immediately ran towards them. 

Trunks knew she was thinking that a fusion would be the only way to solve the Broly problem. Hell, she was probably right. 

He knew she didn't know that they could only be themselves again if they fused again. 

But that was okay. There were so many emotions and so little time, and this was such an urgent situation that he didn't give any thought to it all because there was no _time_. 

"Trunks! I know this is a lot to ask right now but we need to fuse!" Tenshi said in a rush. 

He noticed that she had gotten a very upgraded oxygen mask and honestly was a little curious as to what the oxygen tank looked like, but now wasn't the time to ask about that. 

"Right! Let's do it!" Trunks said, his heart beating a million beats a minute.

"FU - SION - HA!"

It was like she had never left. Their movements were fluid and perfect. Even after all this time, they were on the same page, somehow. 

Trunks felt her mental block against certain things, but he had quite a bit of her galactic patrol memories wash over him. Images of Goku and she going on adventures and getting into fights and struggling to find space currency were introduced to him in a flurry, but there was no time to focus on any of it. 

Trunshi was back in business, baby. 

Trunshi threw themself at Broly, saving Goku from further pummeling. 

Goku took some moments to put himself back together, but his head was throbbing real bad, and he gritted his teeth tightly. 

Trunshi's and Broly's moves were almost too fast for even someone like Vegeta or Piccolo to follow. The ground beneath them pushed against their power and weight, creating craters where they stood and swapped blows.

Goten was helping getting the civilians to safety, but the sound of his band mate's guitar strumming distracted him for a moment. He turned his head and looked over at him. 

"What're you doing!? This isn't the time to play!" 

"What? We were paid to provide soundtrack to the fights! And this _is_ a fight." 

"Seriously!?" Goten said, exasperated. 

Broly, however, paused his movements when he heard the guitar. Trunshi took the opportunity to sock him in the face. As the guitar sound died, Broly's attention was put back onto Trunshi. 

Piccolo, eyes not moving from the fight, noticed the incident. 

"Did he - ?" Gohan asked, unsure on whether to finish the sentence. 

"I think so. Goten! Have your friend play that thing again!" Piccolo shouted over to his brother-in-law. 

"Have you lost your mind!?" Goten asked.

"Just do it!" 

Goten sighed, then turned his head towards his friend. "You heard 'im!" 

The guitarist started playing one of the songs they had planned for the tournament. 

Like magic, it seemed to have an effect on Broly. 

He was outrageously strong and seemed to have gotten stronger since he had last visited Earth. But he was less focused on the fight as the song played. 

Trunshi aimed a kick to his head, but he grabbed Trunshi's leg and then swung Trunshi around and around and around until finally letting go. Trunshi flew across the way, hitting the tournament ring wall - hard. 

Broly then turned his head towards the music. 

"What . . . is that?" Broly asked, stepping towards it. 

"Uh...! Uh!" 

"W-what should we do?" 

Goten's brain was working hard on finding an answer for his band mates. 

"It sounds . . . nice," Broly said. 

"L-let's keep playing?" 

Trunshi and Goku just stared for a good minute, astounded. Broly stood a few feet from Goten and his band, the drummer re-setting up his equipment and Goten pulling out his own guitar. 

This feels so weird, thought Goten as he struck the chord. 

It took a few moments, but the band got into it, and Goten belted out the first lyrics when the time came. 

Piccolo, Dominion, Trunshi, and Goku ended up having to plug their ears because _of course_ it was a screamo song, that was almost all Goten listened to. 

But Broly seemed to . . . like it? 

He was nodding his head to the beat and started swaying back and forth

"Is this seriously happening right now?" Goku asked. 

Trunshi defused, Tenshi keeping her ears plugged while Trunks could listen to it without feeling like his head was going to explode. 

Suddenly his giant sweater felt a lot hotter than it had. 

Trunks pulled the sweater off. 

"I'm - confused, but does this mean Goten has to play non-stop or is he gonna just go home afterwards? Like in that Rick and Morty episode?"

Tenshi raised an eyebrow. 

"Rick and Morty? What's that?" 

Trunks opened his mouth to answer, but Goku powered up all of a sudden and flew at Broly. 

"GRANDPA!" Tenshi shouted. 

The moment was very short-lived. Broly threw his elbow back, clocking Goku right in the nose, which made Goku fall right down to the ground, clutching his face. He struggled not to cry out in pain. Broly then proceeded to ignore Goku entirely. 

The song ended, and Goten and his band were at a loss as to what to do now. 

But Broly did not immediately lash out at anyone. 

Broly was smiling, and his Super Saiyan form actually died down. 

Tenshi, Trunks, Goten, Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta, and the others stared, eyes wide and jaws open as Broly shrunk in size to his basic form. 

Broly smiled at Goten and his band members. 

"I don't know what that was, but I liked it. I finally don't have the sound of Kakarott's screaming stuck in my head. After all these years . . . all I needed was a little . . . a little . . . ."

"Music?" Goten offered. 

Broly nodded. 

"Well, uh . . . you're welcome." Goten hesitated, then said, "Hey, uh, on this planet we have something called an iPod. It's a mobile device you can keep music on. Do you . . . if you had one, you wouldn't have to, uh, be all angry over sounds stuck in your head." 

The expression on Broly's face was rather precious: eyes wide and sparkling with excitement and hope. 

"You'd do that for me?" 

"S-sure...." Goten looked around for Bulma and made eye contact with her. 

"On it!" Bulma said. She got on the phone and immediately called one of her employees to get her a Capsule Corp musical device, stat. 

Broly was set up with his musical device with his type of music (including what Goten's band had come up with), and then Broly thanked them and just . . . flew away. 

Goku had sat up by this point and was trying to assess the damage of his nose. Tenshi had walked over to Goku to help him with that. 

"Just what happened exactly?" Goku asked. 

Bulma put her hand on her hip as the others circled Tenshi and Goku. 

"Honestly? Not sure. But he was a Super Saiyan, right, Vegeta?" Bulma said. 

"That's right. He was a Saiyan, and I think I know who he was. He had vanished soon after the planet had exploded, so we had all assumed him to be dead. But his name is Broly, and he was abnormally strong as an infant. But there had been some talk of exterminating him before the planet exploded due to the reports from the incubation pod that his brain had developed abnormally. The only reason they had not done so immediately was because of his level of power. They had named him Broly." 

"And what was with his obsession with Dad?" Goten asked, still holding onto his guitar. 

Vegeta shrugged. "I didn't exactly hang out in the infirmary ward on Planet Vegeta. But the very little time I spent there, there was always really, really loud crying. It could be that Broly blamed Kakarott for the crying, if it had been stuck in his head this whole time like he said." 

"Hmmm." Bulma pulled out her smart phone, then looked some things up online. "Ohhhh. Okay. That actually is a thing. Echolalia. It's when you get things stuck in your head that people do not ordinarily get stuck in their head. Like things people have said or sounds you can't stand. It's a thing that comes with some developmental and psychiatric disorders. So because he's a Saiyan, he reacted so strongly to the repeated noise in his head and had been unable to get rid of it. But how is that possible? Surely he must've heard something before that would've gotten the sound out of his head. It's been at least 40 years since he heard Goku crying as a baby."

Tenshi and Gohan furrowed their brows. 

"Didn't the Dragon say Broly was being controlled by a god more powerful than Dende?" Gohan said. 

"You're right," Tenshi said, frowning. But what did that mean for Broly? 

Bulma, however, seemed to be thinking about something else. 

"So if Broly's brain developed differently when he was born, and Goku hit his head as a child...." Bulma muttered under her breath. "And they're the strongest Saiyans in the world...." 

A vein in Vegeta's head twitched. "Care to say that again?"

"Hm?" 

"Guys?" Piccolo said. 

They turned to look at him. 

"Perhaps we should hold off talking about this for now. We have a big mess to clean up and civilians to console," Piccolo reminded them. 

"Right," Tenshi said, helping Goku get to his feet. "By the way, what was going on when we showed up?" 

Trunks avoided making eye contact with her. 

"Well . . . ." Goten started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long. I unexpectedly got into Gravity Falls in November, and I've been obsessing. But I haven't forgotten about anything I've been working on. I just might not be updating as often as before. But tell me in the comments if you would rather more frequent, shorter chapters, or if you would rather longer chapters with longer waiting periods, which potentially means one more big giant chapter and then the fic is done? This is important, as your input will help me make a decision on how to go about writing this at the same time as some other stuff I've been doing.


	74. It's The End of the World As We Know It by REM (Everyone)

Trunks and Tenshi sat across from one another. The sun had set long ago, and two cups of tea sat in front of them. The Briefs kitchen had never looked cleaner in Tenshi's opinion. 

What the two of them had gone through independently of each other for the last few years could fill entire books, and it had taken so much effort to pack all of it into a handful of hours. 

Tenshi's life in space sounded like she had lived the stories they had grown up with, the stories about the Planet Namek and the Androids and Cell and Vegeta's initial invasion and the Red Ribbon Army and all the Tenkaichi Budokai in the world. Trunks's sounded like it popped right out of a slice-of-life anime, and Tenshi actually really enjoyed hearing about it. 

She enjoyed hearing about his college courses and his friends and what he had been doing with Marron and Goten and Bra and his parents. 

And he enjoyed hearing about her adventures and stories about how Goku had embarrassed her or done something that made a dire situation worse or how Goku saved her from something monumentally stupid she had done. 

But both were avoiding the elephant in the room. 

Both of them were avoiding talking about what they needed to talk about. 

But while Trunks was perfectly willing to just shove all their bad blood under the rug, just because he finally had her back and she was _here_ and not going anywhere anymore and was actually _talking to him_ , Tenshi was the first to break the ice on the uncomfortable topic.

"I . . . I know what I did was rather shitty. Just . . . upping and leaving like that." 

Trunks didn't say anything at first. His gut wanted him to just hand-wave it away, but his heart still ached from all the pain. And the last thing he wanted was to be resentful towards her. 

In his silence, she continued. 

"At first I thought it was a great idea. 'Cause Grandpa framed it in such a great way. And it really explained why he would disappear for years on end. He . . . he has this philosophy that if you feel like you're not who you are supposed to be, then you should go off and re-find yourself, then come back when you _are_ who you're supposed to be. And I think that I really, really did re-find who I am.... But I also remember the years of not knowing where Grandpa was and wondering why he left. I . . . know that some people wonder if it's their fault that people leave, and . . . the last thing that I had wanted was to cause you or anyone else anymore pain, but I know my actions in fact did cause pain...." 

Trunks almost didn't dare to say anything. But this felt too awkward if he didn't. 

"Well . . . I'm not gonna lie, you hit the nail on the head there.... But I'm happy you're back." 

Tenshi smiled at him. 

"I'm happy I'm back, too. I'm . . . happy I'm a better person now. Or at least, I think I am. I feel like I am." 

A comfortable silence followed that statement, Trunks wanting to say something, but unsure if it was too soon. Unsure if . . . she still felt the same way. But the only way to find out was to say something.... 

Tenshi spoke up once more. 

"So what was going on in the arena before we interrupted?" Tenshi asked. 

Trunks blushed a bit. 

"W-well.... um. You see, my father . . . was getting antsy for . . . for grandchildren, I guess, so . . . ." 

Tenshi stared at him for a moment, then her mouth formed an 'o'. 

"Yeah, so he, uh, put together a tournament so a bunch of people who were interested in marrying the heir to Capsule Corp could fight each other for my hand in marriage.... I don't really know what the status of that is right now." 

Vegeta chose that moment to walk through the kitchen to grab a water bottle. 

"Oh. Uh, Dad?" 

"The tournament is still on, just postponed." Vegeta said. 

He didn't look at Tenshi, then he walked straight back out of the kitchen. 

Trunks swallowed, then looked back at Tenshi. 

"I think he might be the most mad at you out of everybody." 

Tenshi had a thoughtful look on her face. 

"Trunks." 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you want me to compete in that tournament?" 

Trunks stared at her with widened eyes. 

"Huh?" 

"I mean . . . it'd be presumptuous to assume you'd want me to.... Or that you'd want to still be with me at all.... I'd understand if you didn't. I'm . . . not the easiest person to get along with, and I was gone for so long. It'd make sense if you had moved on." 

"Have . . . you moved on?" 

". . . In my mind, I was always working on being the kind of person that would deserve to be with you." 

"You always deserved to be with me," Trunks said before he could stop himself. 

Tenshi smiled at him. 

"Even if that's true, I didn't feel that way. If you want me to compete, I will." 

"I could just tell Dad no, I won't marry the winner." 

"No. I want your dad to approve of me, too. I want to make it up to _all_ of you. But if I compete and win -"

"You will." 

"- you have to understand that I work for the Galactic Patrol now. The home base is not on Earth, and if you stay here, we wouldn't be able to see each other very often, though I would come back at the earliest opportunity." 

"Do they have Capsule Corp out in space?" 

"Uh, no?" 

"Then I think I know what our next business opportunity is going to be. I think Mom would appreciate her son heading the intergalactic location of Capsule Corp." 

Tenshi smiled at him. 

"You'd have to ask her first." 

And so, when the tournament started back up a few weeks later, Tenshi stood before Vegeta with her application. 

Vegeta stared at it, then looked up at her. 

"It's specified in the requirements that you must be capable of providing a child to compete." 

Tenshi furrowed her eyebrow ridges, mouth frowning deep, and she bowed her head. She didn't say anything in response; they both knew the answer was no. 

"Though on a technicality, you can. It just doesn't survive its experience in the egg. Which I suppose is technicality enough." 

Tenshi lifted her head, eyes wide. 

Vegeta refused to make eye contact with her. 

"Out of all the applicants, I know my son would hand-pick you himself, so I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't allow you to compete. But even if you do win most of your matches, you will find that Marron is quite the opponent." 

Tenshi smiled. 

"Thank you, Vegeta." 

Vegeta just grunted, then allowed her to pass into the stadium. 

Marron and Tenshi plowed through most of the competition, though there was more adversaries with actual strength and skill that Vegeta had initially anticipated. Both Tenshi and Marron were impressed by the level of skill showed in some of their matches, and Marron ended up with quite a few new contacts for martial art buddies and friends. 

But as predicted, it came down to Tenshi vs Marron. 

Marron and Tenshi stood across from each other. 

Marron was smirking. 

"You know, I'm only in the tournament so Trunks wouldn't end up with someone he absolutely couldn't stand. Since you're my opponent, and this is the last match, it would make sense if I just threw the match, right?" 

Tenshi started to match her smirk. 

"But you're not going to," Tenshi said. 

Marron shook her head. 

"To be honest, I've been really looking forward to fighting you. Air tank or not, you're one of the best fighters I know. And I wanna see how I stack up." 

Tenshi's smirk grew, showing off her teeth. 

"Then let's go, little one." 

Tenshi, at seven foot, towered over Marron who was just a little taller than Krillin, but Marron knew how to use her size to her advantage. And Tenshi was used to fighting opponents who had different body types and even different body parts. But Tenshi, remembering Marron from before, underestimated just how much strength Marron had packed in her well-built arms. So initially, Marron had the upper hand. 

But in the end, Tenshi still won. 

Marron fell to the ground and Vegeta called out the count-down, and Marron just lay there. Tenshi knew she was fine because she could hear her breathing. 

Tenshi herself was breathing hard, and the high-tech air tank had adjusted accordingly. Tenshi no longer needed to switch out from cannula to face mask herself. It did it for her, and it used the manner of her breathing as informational input to request the transition itself. Throughout Marron and Tenshi's fight, the face mask was being worn, a fancy kind of alien plastic. 

As Vegeta shouted out the number ten, Tenshi went over to Marron and held out her hand. 

"That was a great fight," Tenshi said, her voice labored from the breathing and muffled due to the mask. 

Marron reached up for her hand and pulled herself to her feet. 

"It really was. Thank you for that." Marron's face then got serious. "But I mean it. Don't be a heartbreaker. He loves you." 

Tenshi nodded. "I know." 

Tenshi turned her head to look at the crowd, and Trunks was on his feet and cheering. She smiled at him. 

So in the end, Tenshi still worked with the Galactic Patrol. Trunks moved out into space with her, taking Capsule Corp technology and jobs with him and learning how intergalactic business worked. When their home and work got settled in in space, they came back to Earth for their wedding. Bulma insisted on planning the whole thing, and the only opposition she faced was from Chichi, who wanted to be the one planning it instead. Vegeta looked unhappy the whole time, but since he didn't actively object, Trunks and Tenshi assumed he'd be fine with it. Bra got to be the flower girl, and Dominion was ring bearer because he was still the youngest male. 

Dominion didn't get to be Pan's friend again in a real sense until he had moved out of the house and started college, which happened to be the same college that Pan was attending. 

Gohan and Videl didn't really talk to each other or make up. Even if Videl could forgive Gohan, he had scared her quite a bit, and she no longer felt comfortable being around him. 

Slowly, Gohan phased out of interacting with the outside world once both children were out of the house and earning their own money. He and Piccolo went into the wilderness together to live out the rest of their days together, occasionally coming to visit with Chichi and Goku. 

Things with Chichi and Goku continued as they always did. Never changing. 

Goten ended up having a rather successful music career for a few years, earning quite a bit of money from his royalties, but never quite broke into what they'd call "mainstream." Occasionally, he'd look at the card game he used to play, but he'd never quite reach the point of actually picking up a deck of cards again. Eventually, his band separated, and Goten applied for a police officer job and ended up working alongside Krillin. He still played guitar in his free time, choosing to be live music when off duty at a couple of restaurants and bars. 

There's always room for something not working out right or something terrible happening, so maybe happily ever after is not the best way to end it. 

But everything worked out for everyone in the end, even if it wasn't the way they thought it would be when their lives started.

This is where the story ends, at any rate. 

With a digital photograph sent from Tenshi and Trunks to Vegeta and Bulma, grinning ear-to-ear while standing underneath the rising moons of another planet and their adopted little alien gremlins making funny faces at the camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this isn't how you thought it'd turn out, and maybe this is too short or not satisfying enough, but I like it. It's what I had planned, even if it's not quite written the way I planned, and I personally am satisfied with it. I hope you enjoyed the ride.


End file.
